It looks like the Trans roommate should be credited as a HERO in the Kirk murder case.

[pnwmom]

It appears to me (though he hasn't been directly named) that he was the "friend" who, after speaking with Robinson's concerned family members, called the police to tell them what he knew -- all evidence "after the fact." That led to Robinson's quick arrest.

And police have consistently described the roommate as very cooperative.

Cox also confirmed reports that investigators have interviewed Robinson’s roommate, who was described as a “romantic partner” and is transitioning from male to female.

“This partner has been incredibly cooperative, had no idea that this was happening, and is working with investigators right now,” Cox said on CNN.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/14/charlie-kirk-shooting-utah-gov-cox-.html

[Lovie777]

1. Cox said something this morning....

Re the opposite.

[pnwmom]

3. We should't let them frame it that way. Whatever Robinson's motive might have been

the trans roommate's voluntarily assistance led to quickly solving the case.

[stopdiggin]

6. Gov (Cox) and LE continue to describe roommate as extremely cooperative

Cox previously said something to the effect of "completely unaware" - and perhaps that is beginning to come into question?

Regardless - endless streams of people trotting themselves out in front of the cameras - rarely, if ever, does any real service or 'helps' in the vast majority of 'investigation'. Realize that that is anathema to 'news' and political careers ... But that's just the way it goes.

[mucifer]

2. You know how this will be framed on the right.

[pnwmom]

4. Yes, and we should frame him as a hero.

[intheflow]

15. I don't know if they even exist.

Or if they do, they’re not trans and never had a romantic relationship with Robinson.

[Dock_Yard]

39. Who's your "they"? The roommate? Odd comment; please clarify.

[intheflow]

42. I've heard the person is a trans woman, and elsewhere a trans man.

Since I don’t know their pronouns, I used the universal singular, “they”.

[NowISeetheLight]

22. Already Happening

I wandered over to Faux News. It’s got all the “See it’s all coming together” BS going on. The shooter could’ve met a Trans person five years ago for five minutes and they’d go all in on it. Considering we’ve also heard that the shooter was mad at Kirk because he wasn’t conservative enough and was Fuentis supporter who knows what to believe right now. If that is true it completely tosses out the window the “see Trans blah blah blah” stuff. It that won’t matter to the right-wing. Facts have never mattered to the cult.

[rzemanfl]

5. I thought the shooter lived with his parents.

What is being left out of this story?

[SickOfTheOnePct]

7. I think...

...that like a lot of stuff coming out initially, the "he lives at home with his parents" was incorrect.

I was confused during the press conference Friday because they said he lived at home with his parents, then referenced a roommate who had provided them with messages from Discord that discussed hiding the gun, changing clothes, etc.

I'm still a bit confused about the chronology, i.e., when the investigators reached out to the roommate.

[rzemanfl]

9. What is Discord?

Why should we believe anything at this point?

[SickOfTheOnePct]

12. I think it's a gaming platform

Believe it, don't believe it, whatever.

[Igel]

19. A group chat platform.

Gaming friendly, but you don't have to game to be on it.

A lot of high schoolers have Discord accounts. It's like Slack or GroupMe, but 'edgier'.

I have scant knowledge of it--I used it once and had no need for it ever again.

https://discord.com/

[pinkstarburst]

31. It's a platform where you can set up small groups

and chat and invite others. It's more controlled and often chiller and nicer than other social media because you need an invitation to join an individual discord server. So if want to make one for a book club, I could invite people I want to initially join, and then invite more people I know from other social media platforms. I'm in lots of them for various interests.

[RockCreek]

33. Can be quite dangerous

venue for bullying, wacky groups, etc. Stepkids were and are way too into it despite bullying in the past
And I could do nothing... (I tried, their dad did too).

[misanthrope]

44. Because in our current news realm

more emphasis is placed on speed than accuracy. When stories like this take place people need to keep telling themselves to critically think about stories breathlessly rushed out in the first few days. And internet rumors aren't worth the electrons they employ.

[stopdiggin]

11. not according to more recent reporting

neighbors have been interviewed - talked on record. "Both quiet" "Rarely seen outside unit .. "

Robinson dropped out of college and returned to his hometown. And initial reporting might have conflated and misled ...

[RockCreek]

34. Leaving college after the first srmester is quite common among the LDS

Leaving college after the first srmester is quite common among the LDS male population. That is often when they go on a mission. Women aren't eligible for another year (19 yo for women). I wonder if that had anything to do with the change in his location, and possibly life plans.

[Igel]

18. Reports are he was 3rd year at Dixie Technical College, electrician apprenticeship.

That's in St. George, UT, about 350 miles from Orem Utah. If I recall correctly, his parents live a bit north of Orem (but their location wasn't really something I care(d) about).

That's a bit of a long commute, even for people in Utah.

[dpibel]

8. "Trans roommate" is now settled fact?

Last I heard, both parts of that identifier, like pretty much everything else in this case, was entirely up in the air.

Stuff's flying fast, so maybe I missed it.

[stopdiggin]

13. 'trans roomate' has now evolved into 'romantic partner'

hopefully the 'real reporting' will start to come to the fore. But it is ALWAYS a mistake for us to be giving any credence to Twitter, or Insta/Tok, or Youtube/Favebook, et.al.

[Igel]

20. Video of neighbor describing them and their interactions is available online.

I guess "kissing" and "holding hands" means something in terms of "romantic partner."

[stopdiggin]

24. I hadn't heard that part. But, yes, that would probably qualify, and tend to confirm .. -(nt)-

[dpibel]

25. Could you share a link, please?

I've just spent some time doing searches and have seen quite a bit from neighbors, but not that.

Thanks.

[BlueWave1776]

32. Video of neighbor

Link to tweet

?t=omB5w9tw8qH7fx8aydSAFA&s=19

[dpibel]

35. Thanks. Not sure this is dispositive.

An interesting story.

He saw them together once, two weeks ago. He was riding by on his bike.

He must have been riding very slowly, since he saw them holding hands, saw them kissing, observed that the roommate had a mushroom-shaped haircut (which apparently means trans to this young man), and heard them talking about a doctor's appointment which clearly was about getting surgery to transition. That's a lot to happen as you're pedaling by.

I'm thinking I wouldn't want to build a major case on this eyewitness testimony.

Not to mention the fact that the interview is (1) from The Sun, (2) involves considerable leading questions from the reporters, and (3) is heavily edited.

[AloeVera]

41. Fishy.

This neighbour says he saw them coming out of the building and kissing and holding hands. When asked how he knows the roommate was transitioning, he says because he heard them talking about a "doctor's appt". Asked when he heard that, he responds with "just that one time when they were coming out".

How fortuitous he was able to glean all that information, including "confirmation of transitioning", in that one short span of time as he was riding by. And when is going to the doctor confirmation of anything?

[misanthrope]

45. Don't you know that every time you mention a "doctor's appointment"

it means you're transitioning? I have a doctor's appointment in nine days and another one 16 days later. That must mean I'm on my way to becoming female.

Never mind that the first is a pulmonologist and the second is my standard primary care visit. Context and specifics matter.

[Ping Tung]

10. If not a hero, at least as a good and decent citizen who may have saved lives.

[LeftInTX]

14. The person's name and picture is out there. There is also speculation that they think the roommate is trans due to

some cosplay or AI thing. (Meidas Touch)

I don't know if I trust the governor.

However, the governor is saying "romantic partner". Yesterday, it was a roommate.

Yes, the roommate is being cooperative, that's all that really matters.

I'm just afraid they are trying to frame and target trans people.....

[Igel]

21. Also posts about the decision to transition.

And one username was changed from something male-gendered to "Luna."

[dpibel]

49. You seem pretty focused on this.

[Maru Kitteh]

50. I would rather learn what is being said out in the world here on DU, myself.

I prefer not blinding ourselves to information being discussed, even when, perhaps especially when that information is errenous so that we can be prepared for conversations outside of DU.

[dpibel]

51. Sure. With sources, right?

All I see here is someone asserting something.

This is the internet. Links are real real easy.

So if you state something as a fact without a link, who's blinding oneself to what?

[Alice Kramden]

29. I don't trust Governor Cox

They are trying to put a "left wing" spin on the blame

[Disaffected]

16. So, he has been "incredibly cooperative",

why does that make him a hero - seems to me it makes him more a responsible citizen who is doing what he should?

[stopdiggin]

27. While I tend to agree ...

You are surely aware that there are 'tons' of family members, friends, spouses and romantic partners out there - that do not feel any particular need or obligation in 'helping' the police in their investigations? While putting a loved one (further?) 'in the frame'. And further - don't feel any particular angst over adopting that stance either? In short, "That's THEIR job, not mine .. "

(talking about investigations, families, and 'cooperation' in general here of course .. )

[pnwmom]

37. If he were some MAGA person they would regard him as a hero.

So we should frame it that way, too.

[Nevilledog]

17. I feel pretty confident that Cox doesn't know what he's talking about and this will be false.

[stopdiggin]

28. in what respect? that there was a relationship? person is transitioning? -(nt)-

[Nevilledog]

40. Yes. His sourcing is bad and they're clueless about the radicalization of young men online.

I wouldn't be shocked to find out there's no trans friend, much less *partner*

I'm following a lot of extremism experts online and seeing little bits of info that are being intentionally twisted to meet a narrative.

Could I be wrong? Sure. That's not my opinion right now.

[stopdiggin]

46. OK. currently I'm going with the 'self-decribing' ....

and some of this stuff is emerging from subject's own social media presence. There, once revealed, it's kinda' hard to make that sort of thing 'go away' - or spin it into something else entirely. People can read for themselves ...

[WhiskeyGrinder]

23. begging everyone one again to please have some discernment around what authorities are saying and what media has been

able to corroborate

[sop]

36. In culture wars, truth is the first casualty.

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. The reason it matters if he is sympathetic to a Trans person

And if the only source we have for that is a right wing republican governor, then it’s bullshit so far but:


Is because in America the media and more than half of the country accept that 500 mass shootings being carried out by 500 different white right wing men, and not be more than one carried out by a gay person or a trans person and that the numbers must always be at least 500 –1.

You know what I mean

[sop]

30. Will the roommate get the reward?

[Buzz cook]

38. On Edit I was wrong.

Last edited Wed Sep 17, 2025, 09:41 PM - Edit history (1)

Like many people I didn't wait long enough to get the whole story.


https://factually.co/fact-checks/justice/kirk-shooter-transgender-roommate-85d9e1

[pnwmom]

43. That's not how I read that. It simply says that some reports claim the FBI was a source

of the information, and other reports don't mention the roommate being trans.

All I'm saying is that instead of letting MAGA use Robinson's crime to smear the trans roommate, we should be pointing out that the trans roommate (if s/he is finally proven trans) deserves thanks for coming forward.

[stopdiggin]

48. absolutely! Our reaction here should be, "What possible DIFFERENCE could it make .. ?"

Rather than - "I'm not believing anything the nasty LE - or politicians - are saying .. !"

(and thereby, at least in some sense, validating any kind of attempted smear .. )