A new piece of information in the case of Charlie Kirk’s murder points to a possible political motive. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said that Tyler Robinson, 22, left a note for his transgender roommate that said, “I had the chance to kill Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to do it.” In the messages that went along with it, Robinson said he was upset because he thought Kirk hated him.
After the news broke, well-known conservatives pushed back against claims that Robinson was linked to any right-wing political groups. Instead, they pointed to language from the political left, saying that years of inflammatory language about conservatives may have led to the violence.
The argument made its way into the mainstream media, especially during a heated discussion on Fox News’ The Five. Co-host Greg Gutfeld strongly disagreed with fellow panelist Jessica Tarlov’s attempts to frame the issue as part of a larger trend of political violence from both sides. Gutfeld said that Kirk’s case was different because of the reason behind it and the amount of public interest it received.
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Tarlov brought up other violent acts against Democrats, but Gutfeld didn’t want to compare them to those. He said that people like Kirk had been heavily criticized in public before they died, which he thinks makes the world a more hostile place.
Gutfeld then said that extreme beliefs and language that divides people can make people do violent things. He said that Robinson had been affected by extreme ideas and stories online that can make people think less of life and morality.
Tarlov said she wasn’t downplaying Kirk’s death, but Gutfeld said the conversation needed to go beyond “both sides” arguments. He ended by saying that the focus should be on holding people accountable and rejecting ideas that lead to violence.