Bill Maher and Ben Shapiro got into a heated exchange over the speculated motive behind Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The talk show host accused the conservative commentator of hastily concluding that Kirk’s alleged shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, belongs to the ‘political left.’
‘We don’t know what this kid is,’ Maher insisted. ‘We don’t know s***.’
‘It’s two days out, we don’t know s***, Ben,’ he continued, arguing that ‘the internet is undefeated in getting it wrong to begin with.’
The heated debate unfolded after Shapiro claimed that despite investigators not announcing a motive, ‘you can trace where the death threats originate.’
‘If we bypass political correctness, it becomes apparent that a synagogue shooting is likely the work of either a White supremacist or a radical Muslim,’ he stated.
‘If it is a shooting of a Republican politician, it is very likely to be a trans, antifa, Marxist shooter.’
Shapiro seemed to refer to anti-fascist inscriptions found on bullets used to kill Kirk, which bore messages like ‘Hey fascist, catch!’ and allusions to the Italian anti-fascist anthem ‘Bella Ciao.’
Bill Maher and Ben Shapiro engaged in a fiery argument over the speculated motives behind Charlie Kirk’s murder, with Shapiro suggesting the killer was ‘very likely to be a trans, antifa, Marxist shooter.’
Maher retorted that ‘we don’t know a thing,’ pushing back on Shapiro in a tense exchange, arguing that ‘the internet has a track record of getting it wrong initially.’
The suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination was identified as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident
Shapiro fired back at Maher for dismissing his assertion that Robinson is on the left, and brought up ‘actual reporting’ that described Robinson as ‘not right-wing.’
He added that both sides of the political spectrum have extreme wings that have been prone to violence.
‘The thing that all these groups have in common is… a philosophical structure that says, ‘There is a system that is targeting me. That system is a system of power and it is deadly to me. Therefore, I am excused in using violence against that system,” Shapiro said.
He said he had been friends with Kirk for 13 years, and admitted he never before thought he was in such danger despite having his own security detail.
‘I’ve had 24/7 security for a decade,’ Shapiro said.
‘I’ve spoken at a lot of college campuses. I never, honest to God, thought that we were going to get to this point.’
Robinson was unmasked as the alleged shooter on Friday following a two-day manhunt, which came to an end after his father recognized him through FBI photos and confronted his son.
Robinson seen in his mugshot
The alleged killer confessed to his father after he was confronted, and initially told him he would rather kill himself than turn himself in
Kirk, seen moments before he was shot, was assassinated Wednesday on the UVU campus in Orem, Utah as he held a Turning Point USA event
He reportedly told his father that he would rather kill himself than turn himself in, but was convinced to speak with a local youth minister who also worked with the US Marshals Service.
The family’s social media profiles show Robinson, who has two younger brothers, often enjoying family vacations and sharing smiling selfies, including one of his mother celebrating her ‘genius’ son getting into college.
Other images also show Robinson appearing to use guns frequently in his childhood, regularly visiting shooting ranges and posing with high-calibre weapons.
Robinson was taken into custody around 11pm local time in southern Utah on Thursday night. He lives in a $600,000 six-bedroom home in Washington, Utah – about 260 miles south of Kirk’s assassination site in Orem.
He faces charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to a probable cause affidavit. Authorities said at a press conference on Thursday night that Robinson will face the death penalty if convicted.
At a press conference on Friday morning, Utah governor Spencer Cox began his remarks by declaring: ‘We got him.’
Robinson, 22, named Friday as the alleged killer who shot Charlie Kirk, had a childhood obsession with guns and was seen posing with an M2 Browning 50. calibre machine gun in social media pictures
The alleged assassin was even gifted a ‘build your own rifle’ kit for Christmas as a child, and was often seen smiling in happy family pictures on social media
Robinson has two younger brothers, and lives in a $600,000 six-bedroom home in Washington, Utah – about 260 miles south of Kirk’s assassination in Orem
Officials released images of the person of interest who was sought in the manhunt, seen wearing a black T-shirt with a bald eagle flying across an American flag
Cox described Kirk’s assassination as a ‘watershed moment’ in American history, but added: ‘The question is, what kind of watershed?’
He said that investigators learned from Robinson’s family that he had become more political in recent times, and had recently expressed his dislike for Kirk, describing him to his family as ‘full of hate’.
Cox said that casings from the weapon used to kill Kirk were found to have several anti-fascist messages engraved on them, including one referencing the WW2 Italian anti-fascist song Bella Ciao.
One engraving read ‘Hey Fascists, Catch!’ – next to an up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol and three down arrow symbols – another read ‘OwO’, and a third read ‘If You Read This You Are Gay LMAO’, Cox said.
The governor added that Robinson’s roommate helped investigators by showing messages on Discord where the alleged killer talked about retrieving a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, and references to engraved bullets and a scope.
