Far-right podcaster and “Groyper” leader Nick Fuentes is begging his fans to not take up arms amid internet speculation that the suspected shooter of Charlie Kirk could have been one of his followers.
In a stream posted to his Rumble channel Thursday afternoon, Fuentes said he “disavows” any fan of his who engages in political violence.
“To all of my followers, if you take up arms, I disavow you, I disown you in the strongest possible terms. That is not what we are about,” said Fuentes, 27. He also pleaded with “the other side” to not seek out revenge or retaliation.
In the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s killing, right wing politicians and pundits blamed and threatened the “radical left,” despite there being no information about his shooter’s motives or political affiliation. However, after the FBI apprehended Kirk’s suspected killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, details from the shooting and Robinson’s home life have given some reason to suspect that Robinson was a “Groyper,” or a follower of Fuentes—a group that, taking Fuentes’ lead, frequently criticized and trolled Charlie Kirk from the right.
This idea doesn’t have any concrete evidence, and stems from interpretations of the scant information publicly available about Robinson. Much of it has has focused on the messages etched on the bullet casings found in the rifle believed to be the murder weapon. The messages consist of memes and gaming references, as well as one message reading “Hey Fascist! Catch!” Robinson’s apparent fluency with online culture led to speculation that he may have been radicalized in internet far right circles, and Fuentes is among the most prominent white nationalists and anti-semites online.
On Friday, Fuentes demanded from the Trump administration a swift investigation of the Kirk killing in a post on X. The replies are flooded with responses suggesting that the shooter was one of Fuentes’ followers.
Media outlets have continued to fuel speculation on Robinson’s motives by publishing and retracting pieces that could paint Robinson as a leftist. During the investigation, the Wall Street Journal published information given to them by cops that said the bullet casings had “transgender and antifascist ideology” etched on them. This was corrected, as none of the messages on the bullet casings could be interpreted as promoting “transgender ideology.”
On Friday, The Guardian published a story that quoted an acquaintance of Robinson who said the suspected killer was “really leftist.” They retracted that detail after the source told them they did not accurately remember Robinson’s politics.
In a piece published in The Journal this morning, Gov. Cox continued to insist the investigation showed Robinson was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.” He did not provide any new evidence to support this claim.
Robinson’s immediate family reportedly supports Trump. Robinson, said to be a smart student, had become increasingly interested in—and angry about—politics in the time leading up to Kirk’s killing. Utah governor Spencer Cox said in a press conference Friday that Robinson grilled family members about Kirk ahead of the conservative organizer’s appearance at Utah Valley University, saying Robinson “didn’t like (Kirk) and the viewpoints he had.”
Short of some sort of manifesto or direct statement from Robinson, it remains unclear from which side of the political spectrum Robinson disagreed with Kirk.
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