Reflections on the Charlie Kirk Assassination

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted and Published on September 13, 2025

Charlie Kirk (left) and shooting suspect Tyler Robinson (right).

An Editorial Opinion

Turning Point USA founder and conservative social media influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday.  President Donald Trump announced the arrest of Kirk’s alleged shooter on Friday.

Kirk’s death was downgraded from an “assassination” to a “murder” by a “lone wolf” killer who told his father what he had done.  The father, in turn, alerted law enforcement officials about his son's role in the crime.  Nobody else is facing criminal charges in the case.

The alleged shooter -- Tyler Robinson -- did not match the profile spun by right-wing media groups and MAGA-aligned social media influencers immediately after Kirk’s assassination.  These amateur sleuths surmised and proclaimed that Kirk’s assassin was a deranged transgender shooter.

Robinson, however, is a white, Christian, straight, MAGA Republican male whose family strongly supports Donald Trump.  Robinson has no military background and no known sniper training.

Even though FBI Director Kash Patel looked and acted totally weird in press conferences related to the case, federal and state law enforcement officials patted themselves on the back for “solving” the case quickly.  They decided that the state of Utah would charge Robinson with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.  Additional state charges may be announced next week.

No federal charges have been announced against Robinson.

Is Tyler Robinson a “Patsy Defendant” in the Kirk Assassination Case?

After Tyler Robinson's arrest was announced, seasoned homicide investigators deemed him to be a “patsy defendant” in Charlie Kirk’s assassination case.   A “patsy defendant” is someone who can be quickly and easily blamed for Kirk’s death.  The prompt arrest of a “patsy defendant” in a high-profile assassination case usually signals a coverup.

The two best known "patsy defendants" in modern U.S. history were Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray. Oswald was the alleged killer in the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  James Earl Ray was the alleged killer in the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Each man was deemed to be the "lone wolf" killer in his case.

Oswald was murdered before his guilt could be established in court. Ray entered an "Alford Plea" to the crimes alleged in his case, which means his guilt was never established in court from a factual standpoint. An "Alford Plea" is essentially a "no contest" response to criminal charges.

Today, we know that the real killers in the Kennedy and King assassinations were never identified and apprehended.

Based upon the evidence that has been made publicly available to date, the real killers in Kirk’s assassination case have NOT been identified or captured.  

Kirk’s assassination required at least 4 members of a “hit team” -- a computer hacker who accessed third-party electronic accounts for detailed information about Kirk's security arrangements on Utah Valley University's campus, a trained sniper, a spotter near the stage, and a get-away accomplice for the "hit team." Besides Robinson (assuming he is the sniper), none of the other accomplices has been identified or captured.

Here are some facts, circumstances, and evidence that undermine the government’s “lone wolf” theory of the case:

1. The bullet that struck Charlie Kirk was not found or retrieved for forensic testing.

2. A “hit team” spotter stood in the crowd near Kirk when he was assassinated.

3. The rifle recovered by law enforcement authorities in the woods near the assassination site -- a Mauser model 98, in .30-06 caliber, with a scope mounted on it -- may not have been the weapon that was used to assassinate Kirk. For the record, the rifle identified as the murder weapon in James Earl Ray's was not the weapon used to kill King.

4. Except for Tyler Robinson, the other “hit team” members successfully escaped after Kirk’s assassination.  Robinson, the local “patsy defendant,” did not make a serious effort to evade capture.  He wanted to be caught.

5. Charlie Kirk, who was a staunch America First advocate, feared for his life in the weeks before his assassination after he (a) publicly began to retreat from his usual hardcore pro-Israel stance and (b) privately questioned Donald Trump’s unwavering support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  As a result of these actions, right-wing, pro-Trump loyalist and media influencer Laura Loomer publicly chastised Kirk (in a post on X that she deleted one day after the shooting) and accused him of being a “political opportunist .... who stabs Trump in the back."

   

6. Immediately prior to the assassination, the personal and political relationship between Charlie Kirk and Benjamin Netanyahu was somewhat strained.  Yet, Netanyahu publicly announced Kirk’s assassination within minutes of its occurrence. He was the first government official to do so.

7. Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, carries out covert assassinations, spy missions, and blackmail operations all over the world. Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long “honey trap” operation (which used underaged girls and boys) and Epstein’s 2019 assassination are examples of Mossad's work in the U.S.

Will the Govenment's “Patsy Defendant” Theory Work in Kirk’s Case?

MAGA World is already divided by and struggling with the U.S. Department of Justice's and FBI's ongoing coverup in the Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophilia case.  Based upon the surging number of skeptical posts on X and various right-wing social media platforms in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, it does not appear that MAGA World has the appetite for a coverup in the assassination of Charlie Kirk -- a true MAGA hero. 

MAGA World appears to be suffering from “coverup fatigue.”   What is worse, Benjamin Netanyahu would be the "primary beneficiary" of a law enforcement coverup in Kirk’s case, and Netanyahu is viewed by most Americans as a "genocidal thug" and designated "war criminal."

MAGA World will likely choose criminal justice for Charlie Kirk’s family over a law enforcement coverup for Benjamin Netanyahu, whose popularity with the American people appears to be waning.