In a week of death, agony, and unspeakable cruelty, two groups of people were ensnared in a God-awful moral vise.
It was the ultimate lose-lose, Catch-22.
The first group was the mother and father of Tyler Robinson, the alleged murderer of Charlie Kirk. (Although I’m pretty sure we’ll soon be able to drop “alleged” from his preamble.) As a father of two, I simply can’t fathom being placed in a situation where my child has done something so shocking and heinous that my moral obligation would be to turn him over to law authorities who’ve already declared their intent to seek the death penalty.
I’d like to think I’d do the right thing, too — which is exactly what Robinson’s father did when he recognized his flesh-and-blood in the FBI images: He didn’t run. He didn’t hide. He didn’t lie. And instead, he facilitated his child’s peaceful surrender.
But I don’t know for sure if I would.
I love my kids. It’s a love without a beginning or end. I’m sure my initial impulse would be to jump on the hand grenade, lie to the police, and take all the blame: Send me away — not my child!
Hell, I’m already in my 50s. If my kid was accused of a crime he didn’t commit, I’d be perfectly fine taking the fall, even if I had to spend the rest of my life behind bars. So what?
After all, I’d wake up every morning in a prison cell knowing that my kid is free… and that alone would make it worthwhile.
Honestly? I’d probably have a smile on my face.
But part of what’s coloring my thinking is that my children are good, decent people. They’re awesome kids! And if anyone ever accused ‘em of a horrible, evil crime, I’d KNOW they were lying — because my children wouldn’t do that! That’s not who they are!
I wonder if Tyler Robinson’s parents felt the same way.
The second group consisted of Tyler Robinson’s roommate and (according to media reports) romantic partner, Lance “Luna” Twiggs. By all accounts, Twiggs had no advanced knowledge of the crime and is fully cooperating with law enforcement officials — even after his “partner” murdered Charlie Kirk (allegedly) on his behalf.
Which is a critically important detail in establishing “mens rea.”
Given the vitriol and anti-MAGA rhetoric, it seems very likely that Charlie Kirk’s opinions on trans people played a determining role in his assassination. Too many leftwing outlets were saying things like “Trump Declares War on Transgender People,” which not only scared the crap out of the trans community (and their partners), but also provided license to unstable nutjobs in the “Resistance” movement to respond with violence.
Hey, if this is a “war,” then it’s totally appropriate to use bullets. Right?
Like the expression says, “All’s fair in love and war.”
Twiggs could’ve lawyered up. He could’ve stonewalled or fled. He could’ve helped his partner escape.
It says something commendable about his moral fiber that he didn’t do any of that, but instead helped the FBI build a case that will, very likely, end with his “lover” being executed by the state.
The pain inflicted on Erika Kirk is unparalleled. She’s mourning the loss of her husband, soulmate, and father of her children. All her dreams of growing old with the man she loves — the hugs, kisses, birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries, and how she’d beam with pride when her husband walked their daughter down the aisle — were extinguished in a moment by a monster with a gun.
So I’m not going to compare her grief with anyone else’s, because her family — and her family alone — suffered the deepest tragedy possible. The focus must be on her. She’s the victim in the truest sense of the word.
But it’s still worth noting that other families are suffering today, too. All I can say is, thank God they did the right thing.
Because I honestly don’t know if I could.
PRedictions: Within a 72-hour period, Erika Kirk’s life was baptized by blood, transforming her from wife to widow to beacon of hope. I don’t think it was coincidental that she wore white when she addressed the nation:
It was an extraordinary speech. If you haven’t heard it, stop what you’re doing and watch it ASAP.
Instantly, Erika Kirk became one of the most influential conservatives on the planet.
I don’t know what her future holds, but I hope and pray she’s being kind to herself. For her own sake — and for the sake of her children — she needs time to grieve. Politics can wait; her children cannot.
But I don’t think she’ll wait. I suspect she’s already rolling up her sleeves and dedicating herself to furthering her husband’s legacy. And maybe, by plunging herself into Charlie’s work, it’ll allow her to grieve on her own terms.
Maybe.
I’m just so scared for her. She’s already suffered so much.
PRojections: The Charlie Kirk story isn’t going away. (Nor should it.) Over the next few months, we’re going to have:
- Charlie’s funeral and/or “celebration of life”;
- More Turning Point USA events at college campuses;
- The legal charges and official arraignment of Tyler Robinson;
- Interviews with the participants (and their lawyers);
- The posthumous “Presidential Medal of Freedom” ceremony for Charlie;
- Tributes, commentaries, and more.
For better or worse, it’ll be dominating the headlines for the foreseeable future.
PRaise: To the FBI. While CNN was running hit pieces on Kash Patel (“‘It’s unacceptable’: Inside growing concerns about Patel’s FBI leadership”), the FBI successfully wrapped up the case in near-record time, captured the bad guy, and did so with no further loss of life.
Bravo, boys.
Interestingly, in CNN’s hit piece, you have to wade through 12 paragraphs of garbage and (mostly) anonymous allegations before you hit paragraph #13, which said:
An FBI official defended Patel to CNN, noting that the suspect was only eventually apprehended after a family member saw photos of him released by the FBI. The official also pointed out that the arrest of Robinson came quicker than other recent high-profile manhunts, including that of Luigi Mangione, who was on the run for five days after allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. [emphasis added]
Oh, by the way, when Luigi Mangione killed Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, Joe Biden was president. And for some weird reason, I don’t recall CNN whining and moaning about their “concerns” about the FBI!
(Must be an oversight, eh?)
Ah well. The mainstream media has long held different standards for different FBI directors: They made a huge deal about J. Edgar Hoover (allegedly) dressing like a woman — yet never made a peep about Janet Reno. (Ba-bump-bump-ching!)
Weird, huh?
PRedators: The obvious predator is Charlie Kirk’s assassin, plus the leftwing mob that cheered and celebrated when a 31-year-old father of two was murdered in broad daylight. But for sanity’s sake, let’s go with something lighter:
Poor Kamala Harris! I’ve never seen a politician with worse timing!
The same day she launched her big comeback campaign — complete with juicy excerpts published in The Atlantic — was the day Charlie Kirk was murdered.
And almost immediately, her big comeback was completely forgotten.
She went from the top of page one to somewhere in the middle of page six or seven. She went from the lead story to the back of the bus.
You literally couldn’t have picked a worse day to launch a political comeback!
Her book will debut in just nine days. And without a PR campaign to promote it, there’s no way it’ll sell. There wasn’t any preceding demand for it; the whole point of her PR campaign was to create the demand!
Now, she only has about one week left to get people to care enough to buy it, and that’s just not gonna happen. She ran out of time.
And crappy book sales are a very poor catapult for a presidential campaign.
Stick a fork in her: Kamala is kaput.
She’s done.
