An expert who appeared on CNN to give his thoughts on Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin said the suspect was motivated by hate for Christians conservatives , sparking backlash from critics who accused the network of not pushing back on the claims. 

Criminologist Dr. Scott Bonn told host Laura Coates on Monday that ‘while we don’t know the specific motive’ of alleged killer Tyler Robinson, 22, ‘I can almost guarantee you it’s rooted in rage in some way, and it’s highly specific.’

‘And I think Charlie Kirk represented something both personal to him as well as symbolic,’ Bonn speculated. ‘And he was striking out at things he had grown to hate and resent. And I’m talking about Christian conservatism and gun ownership.’ Coates and CNN chief law enforcement analyst John Miller listened on, leading to pushback from viewers.

‘Laura Coates sat silent as he laid it out, unchallenged. And this is exactly why CNN buries her show at 11 PM,’ wrote one X user who shared footage of the conversation. ‘Now, it’s the fault of Christian conservatism. Wow! Gaslighting in full display,’ added another. ‘Look at those idiots they’re all thinking how can we blame Trump,’ a third groused.

The debate occurred days after Robinson was turned in to authorities by his father. It was later revealed that Robinson had a roommate who is transgender. The suspect is said to be not cooperating with authorities. Law enforcement is looking into whether Robinson believed Kirk’s views on gender identity were ‘hateful’ to people like Robinson’s roommate.

The roommate is cooperating with law enforcement, Utah Governor Spence Cox said Sunday. Cox added that the roommate was in the process of transitioning from male to female. On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Cox added that Robinson comes from a conservative family.

However, the governor said ‘his ideology was very different than his family.’ ‘Clearly there was a lot of gaming going on,’ he said. ‘Friends have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture, and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep.’ The governor added that the suspect had been radicalized ‘in a fairly short amount of time’.

Unused bullet casings found in the weapon Robinson is suspected of using were marked with symbols and wording that appeared to stem from online gaming culture. One had ‘Hey, fascist! Catch!’ inscribed, while another featured a World War II-era Italian anti-fascist song that had reportedly been repurposed in niche online circles.

Robinson’s family and friends said he spent large amounts of time scrolling the ‘dark corners of the internet,’ Cox said Sunday. A relative of Robinson’s roommate told Fox News that the roommate ‘hates conservatives and Christians.’