Charlie Kirk assassination suspect was far-left 'on everything', high school friend says

A person who was friends with Charlie Kirk assassination suspect Tyler Robinson has revealed that the 22-year-old had begun embracing far-left views in high school. 

The high school friend, who spoke anonymously to The Guardian, said that Robinson was "pretty left on everything," and was "the only member of his family that was really leftist." The friend added, "the rest of his family was very hard Republican."

He recounted how around sophomore year, Robinson had begun embracing more extreme political views and would "always be ranting and arguing about them." 

The friend said that one of the inscriptions left on a bullet casing at the scene, which were arrows going in different directions, was a reference to Helldivers 2. The two frequently played video games together in high school. He said the arrows were in reference to "calling in a bog bomb that exists" in the game "called the 500 kilogram."

Utah Governor Spencer Cox revealed the messages left behind on the bullet casings in a Friday morning press conference announcing Robinson’s arrest. "Inscriptions on the three unfired casings read, 'Hey, fascist! Catch!' Up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols. A second unfired casing read, 'Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao.' A third unfired casing read, 'If you read this, you are gay, LMAO.'" One fired casing had an inscription that read, "Notices bulge OWO what's this," a reference to memes in furry subcultures. 

The friend said he was shocked by the news of Robinson’s arrest. "I knew he [Robinson] had strong political views, but I never thought it would even go near that far." The two began to drift apart by the end of high school and the friend said he had not spoken to Robinson in years. 

Cox said in the press conference that Robinson’s father had spoken with a family friend and "confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident." That information was relayed to authorities. 

"Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson, who stated that Robinson had become more political in recent years. The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner, prior to September 10, and in that conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate. The family member also confirmed Robinson had a gray Dodge Challenger."