The FBI tried keeping the gender identity of the trans partner of Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer a secret because he had been ‘extremely cooperative’ with authorities.
Sources familiar with the case told Axios that Lance Twiggs was ‘aghast’ when confronted by investigators over his lover’s alleged assassination plot, saying: ‘Oh my God, no.’
Investigators are looking into whether Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, was motivated by his belief that the conservative activist’s views on transgender people were hateful.
After asking investigators if ‘that’s what happened’, a horrified Twiggs agreed to cooperate and said ‘here are all the messages’, according to Axios.
Discord messages sent by the alleged killer, who was listed as ‘Tyler’, reportedly mentioned how he had wrapped his rifle in a towel and stashed it in some bushes near Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot.
The sender also said that the rifle would have to be retrieved, Utah governor Spencer Cox said during a news conference.
An affidavit that detailed the Discord conversation also mentioned that Robinson had talked about changing outfits after the shooting.
The messages helped investigators find and arrest Robinson for the assassination, and they gave evidence for prosecutors to seek an aggravated murder charge against the alleged killer, which is the only charge in Utah that carries the death penalty.
Discord said in a public statement that there was ‘no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord’.
Public records confirm that Twiggs and Robinson lived at the same address, and a relative of Twiggs confirmed they were roommates in a conversation with the New York Post.
That relative also said Twiggs was the ‘black sheep’ of the family but did not speculate on a romantic relationship between the roommates.
Twiggs has been transitioning from male to female, according to police. His relative said she did not know what Twiggs’s politics are or that he was transitioning, but she did say that it wouldn’t surprise her.
Robinson’s motives are the subject of intense debate online, with conservatives saying he is a radical leftist and liberals pushing back by pointing to his conservative upbringing.
In an interview with the Daily Mail on Friday, Robinson’s grandmother, Debbie Robinson, said the family supports Trump and the MAGA movement.
‘Most of my family members are Republican. I don’t know any single one who’s a Democrat,’ she said.
Other family members said that Robinson had become more political over the past few years and that he had expressed interest in Kirk’s visit to Utah Valley University.
Although Robinson grew up in a conservative Mormon family, he was not a registered Republican or Democrat, and authorities say he became infatuated with far-left ideology in recent years.
Governor Cox said a member of Robinson’s family told investigators that the accused killer recently had a conversation in which someone told him Kirk ‘was spreading hate and was full of hate’. It is unclear who made that statement.
The governor also said Robinson had showcased his new beliefs at a family dinner before the shooting and that he had talked about disliking Charlie Kirk.
Progressive activists have criticized the media for reporting that one of the messages on the bullet casings from the scene had an inscription related to transgender people on it, which turned out to be untrue.
Kirk regularly criticized the goals of the LGBTQ+ community and said he was against same-sex marriage and gender reassignment surgery.
But none of the messages written on the four bullets found by investigators mentioned trans people.
The casing from the single-fired shot said: ‘Notices bulge OWO what’s this?’
‘Hey fascist! CATCH!’ read another, unfired casing, followed by an an up arrow symbol, right arrow and three down arrows.
‘O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!’ read the second unfired casing.
‘If you read this, you are GAY Lmao,’ read the third.
The shot that killed Kirk was fired as he was debating a student about the involvement of transgender individuals in mass shootings.
The FBI is trying to pin down Robinson’s exact motive by investigating a ‘mountain of evidence’, including the relationship between the accused assassin and his roommate.
They are also looking into ‘every connection, every group, every link and anyone tied’ to the shooting, according to police.
