Former talk show host Montel Williams downplayed the political motivations of the suspected assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, saying he believes the killer was more motivated by love for his partner.
During “CNN NewsNight,” Williams argued that the suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, was not motivated politically but by love for his transgender partner when he allegedly murdered Kirk at Utah Valley University last week.
“I don’t believe he was motivated politically. I think this was motivated emotionally. I think this was a emotionally stunted person who literally – when I say it this way, just hear me — tried to defend his significant other, not trying to defend some ideology,” Williams told the CNN panel.
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Williams made the comments in reference to information coming out about Robinson and his relationship with his roommate.
Authorities released text conversations between Robinson and his roommate, who they said was in the process of transitioning, around the time of Kirk’s murder.
In addition to texts that appear to corroborate prosecutors’ allegations about Robinson’s role in the killing, the messages also revealed the romantic nature of his relationship with his roommate. The suspect referred to the roommate as “my love” multiple times.
“I am still ok my love, but am stuck in orem [sic] for a little while longer yet,” Robinson wrote in one exchange, according to the indictment. “Shouldn’t be long until I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.”
Williams argued that protecting his romantic partner from Kirk and other conservatives’ critical views of the transgender movement was the real motivator for the crime, not his ideology.
“There are people who are trying to pigeonhole this as a leftist thing and a right thing and what we’re really talking about — hear me, because I’m going to throw you when I say this — we’re talking about a lovetorn child, a kid,” Williams said.
“This is probably his first real relationship. And somebody was disparaging the person that he loved,” he continued.
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He noted that Kirk was killed while answering a question about transgender issues.
“He sat on that building for 30 minutes before he took the shot. Why’d he wait until the first word ‘trans’ came up? Then he took the shot,” he said.
ABC News reporter Matt Gutman also made a point to reflect on how much the shooter seemed to love his partner on Tuesday. While on the air, he remarked on the texts, calling them “very touching in a way that many of us didn’t expect.”
Gutman’s statements generated serious backlash online, and he later expressed regret for sharing them, saying he did a poor job of trying to contrast the horrific crime he allegedly committed with the soft tone of his texts.
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