Federal judge blocks Trump administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan minors
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from deporting certain Guatemalan minors to their home country after the government walked back claims that it intended to reunite the youths with their parents. Judge Timothy Kelly, who issued the order, signaled his skepticism of the removals in a hearing last week, noting declarations from minors who said they feared facing violence or neglect if they were returned to Guatemala. “It goes without saying that makes that irreparable harm,” Kelly said of their possible removals. Kelly, a Trump appointee, also raised a report from the Guatemalan attorney general’s office, which plaintiffs submitted to the court. The report was compiled in response to Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement notifying the Guatemalan government that the government planned to return more than 600 minors to Guatemala. No parents had requested the return of their children, the report said. DOJ attorney Sarah Welch responded during the hearing that she had no evidence to contradict the report. BIDEN JUDGE HALTS ‘SURPRISING’ ILLEGAL ALIEN MINOR REPATRIATION PLAN AFTER ADVOCACY GROUPS SUE “I don’t have anything specific that I can refer to contest the Guatemalan AG’s report,” Welch said, though she also said that some children have signaled they are interested in returning home. The judge’s order arose from a lawsuit brought against the Trump administration after federal authorities woke up 70 minors, aged 10 to 17, in the middle of the night over Labor Day weekend while they were in HHS custody and transferred them to a plane bound for Guatemala. Attorneys for the minors secured an emergency restraining order from Judge Sparkle Sooknanan that prevented their imminent deportation. Kelly’s order effectively extends that order indefinitely. The Trump administration could appeal the decision. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, which is named in the lawsuit, for comment. The minors’ attorneys argued their clients were at imminent risk of removal despite some having pending asylum cases or other legal claims that had not fully been vetted by the courts. LAWYERS CHALLENGE DEPORTATION OF HUNDREDS OF MINORS TO GUATEMALA Sooknanan initially addressed the lawsuit over Labor Day weekend, but Kelly has since taken the case over. Trump administration officials, including a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, had excoriated Sooknanan when she issued her order, claiming the judge was blocking children from returning to their parents. “Judge Sparkle [Sooknanan] is blocking flights to *reunify* Guatemalan children with their families,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote on social media at the time. “Now these children have to go to shelters. This is disgusting and immoral.” The minors’ attorneys argued in court papers that trafficking and immigration laws “prevent unaccompanied children from being whisked off under cover of darkness at the whim of any government.” The minors in question are currently in Health and Human Services custody and have no legal guardians in the United States, the attorneys have said.
Senate Republican pushes Charlie Kirk Act to stop government-funded ‘propaganda’
FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to stop “propaganda” in America in the name of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, plans to introduce the Charlie Kirk Act, which would halt the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) from disseminating media, such as radio shows, videos and websites, to influence Americans. Lee said in a statement to Fox News Digital that from the end of World War II to former President Barack Obama’s second term, the USAGM, which is an apparatus of the State Department, was barred from distributing media within the U.S. Lee argued that until 2013, it was illegal to “target American citizens with propaganda.” HOUSE CLEARS PATH FOR VOTE HONORING CHARLIE KIRK, DENOUNCING ‘POLITICAL EXTREMISM’ “In 2013, these protections were taken away,” Lee said. “My legislation restores this safeguard under the name of an American martyr for freedom of speech and freedom of thought: Charlie Kirk.” “As Charlie’s vital work so ably demonstrated, Americans can figure out the truth for themselves without government telling them what to believe,” he continued. CHARLIE KIRK MURDER SPURS FIRST-IN-THE-NATION STATE POLITICAL VIOLENCE HATE CRIME LEGISLATION Lee’s bill would add stronger guardrails to the Cold War-era Smith-Mundt Act, which was initially designed to promote the U.S. around the globe. However, the law was tweaked in 2012 to allow the materials produced by the agency to be made available in America. The Charlie Kirk Act would prevent media produced by the agency from being shown in the U.S. right away, instead effectively embargoing it in the U.S. for 12 years. It would also prevent the agency from using the media it produces from influencing Americans. CHARLIE KIRK MOURNED BY WORLD LEADERS AFTER SHOCKING UTAH ASSASSINATION Lee’s latest legislation is not the first bill he’s introduced to honor Kirk, who was assassinated in Orem, Utah, last week. His resolution condemning that act of political violence passed unanimously in the Senate this week. “This is just a flag planted on a hill,” Lee said on X. “What matters is where we carry it next.”
Colleges warned not to invoke Charlie Kirk’s death to silence free speech, unfairly hike security costs
FIRST ON FOX: More than a dozen state attorneys general sent a letter to public university and college presidents in their respective states Thursday warning them against invoking the assassination of Charlie Kirk to chill conservative free speech, or face investigations and potential lawsuits, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. “Unfortunately, we have heard troubling reports that some university officials are using the murder of Charlie Kirk as a justification to shut down speech on campus,” the letter reads. “While considering safety concerns, it is critical that universities are not imposing what would effectively be a tax on free speech.” “Particularly at this moment, when free speech itself was attacked, our universities must show through their actions that they will defend free speech and resist the ‘Assassin’s Veto.’ You have an obligation to protect free speech—you must not use the burden of protecting free speech to prevent free speech.” The “assassin’s veto” is understood as a phenomenon of using violence or threats of violence to silence opposing views. CHARLIE KIRK’S KILLING AT UTAH UNIVERSITY PROMPTS SCRUTINY OF SECURITY MEASURES At the heart of the letter is the issue of security costs as it pertains to conservative speakers. Colleges and universities previously have come under fire over accusations of charging higher security fees for conservative speakers. Such accusations have led to free speech lawsuits in the past, including the University of California, Berekely, settling a lawsuit with campus conservative groups, the College Republicans and Young America’s Foundation, in 2018 concerning allegations the school discriminated against conservative speakers by leveling higher security fees and other safety restrictions that led to the cancellation of right-leaning speakers on campus. Berkeley argued that the higher security fees were based on assessment from law enforcement officials that the speakers were likely to face an increase in public disruption and violence, before reaffirming its “commitment to free speech” and changing its security fee operations. The state attorneys general called on colleges to ensure they “impose security fees in a content-neutral and viewpoint-neutral manner” or face potential investigation and legal action. YEARS OF CAMPUS ATTACKS ON CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS RESURFACE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER “Any security policy that appears neutral on its face must not be applied in a discriminatory manner. There is a long and troubling trend of universities misusing security policies to unconstitutionally chill conservative speech on campus. For example, just last year, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico issued a preliminary injunction against the University of New Mexico after the university attempted to charge Turning Point USA over $5,000 in security fees for an October 2023 event featuring conservative speaker Riley Gaines. As the Court found, that was unacceptable,” the letter continued, pointing to another instance of colleges using security fees to allegedly silence conservative voices. The letter was spearheaded by Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird. A total of 17 Republican state attorneys general signed onto the letter, including top law enforcement officials from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah. “The tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a sobering reminder that the right to free speech must be protected,” Bird told Fox Digital. “Charlie was murdered while debating on a university campus, a place where the free exchange of ideas should be encouraged; we cannot allow the actions of an assassin to stop free speech in any way. Colleges and universities must take steps to keep their students safe while preserving free discussion and open debate.” Kirk was killed Sept. 10 while he was at Utah Valley University’s campus as part of a Turning Point USA event. The conservative powerhouse was sitting under a tent while chatting with students when a single shot rang out and struck Kirk in the neck. “We were shocked and saddened by the assassination of Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday,” the letter reads. “As the chief law enforcement officers of our states, we unequivocally condemn political violence of any kind. The fact that the slaying took place on a college campus, during a debate, makes it even more tragic.” “It is critical our state institutions of higher learning serve as forums for robust debate from all perspectives,” the letter continued. “The campus should be the very place where the First Amendment rings loudest for all to hear. We urge you to say no to the ‘Assassin’s Veto.’” The attorneys general argued that students might be considered “consumers” under the respective states’ Consumer Fraud Acts or Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices laws, and that the universities might violate state “laws if you invoke ‘security concerns’ to impose exorbitant fees on student groups,” while simultaneously advertising to students that the school is open for discussion and dialogue across the political spectrum. CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: TIMELINE OF UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING DETAILS ATTACK, MANHUNT FOR SUSPECT “If we receive complaints about your school, we will fully and fairly investigate those complaints subject to the authority of our respective offices,” the state attorneys general wrote. “Our offices are committed to ensuring that all our state entities, including our public colleges and universities, follow the Constitution.” Conservative nonprofits, including President of Defending Education Nicole Neily, celebrated that the AGs’ calls for better protecting free speech is the ideal way to honor Kirk’s legacy. “This is a moment for leadership, and we are deeply grateful that the nation’s attorneys general are using their authority to remind university administrators of their sacred obligation to protect free speech and open discourse on college campuses,” she said. “I can think of no better way to honor Charlie’s legacy than through ensuring that students voices cannot be silenced by fear or malice.” Will Hild, the executive director for Consumers’ Research, a longtime nonprofit dedicated to consumer information, lauded Bird for leading the charge on ending the “assassin’s veto.” “By sustaining the assassin’s veto, these University bureaucrats are actively aiding Charlie’s murderer, using the threat of violence to
Biden’s ex-chief of staff arrives for House Oversight grilling as mental acuity probe nears end
Former White House chief of staff Jeff Zients is on Capitol Hill Thursday as the House Oversight Committee’s probe into former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity draws to a close. He said nothing to reporters on his way into his closed-door voluntary interview, though the ex-Biden aide did shake hands with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., on his way into the room. The sit-down is expected to last from about 10 a.m. into the afternoon. Zients is the last former Biden official expected to be interviewed by the committee, which is also looking into whether the then-president was fully aware of clemency orders and other executive actions signed by autopen during the latter half of his term. RON KLAIN DODGES REPORTERS AFTER MARATHON GRILLING IN BIDEN COVER-UP PROBE Comer told reporters ahead of the interview that Zients is “one of the most, if not the most important, witnesses in our investigation.” “Zients was the one who authorized the use of the autopen, especially down the stretch in the last lame duck period of the Biden administration,” Comer said. “We’ve had a lot of witnesses come in that were supposedly in Biden’s inner circle that were shielded from President Biden, especially in the last six months of his administration. So we believe Zients is the guy that was potentially making a lot of decisions down the stretch.” Zients’ recollection will be of particular interest to House investigators, given his senior role in the Biden White House for most of those final two years in office. Before that, he served as counselor to the president and White House COVID-19 response coordinator from Biden’s swearing-in in January 2021 until April 2022. Perhaps most critical to the committee is Zients’ reported key role in the chain of command for Biden’s autopen pardons. LONGTIME BIDEN AIDE SAYS HE STOOD TO EARN UP TO $8M HAD PRESIDENT WON RE-ELECTION It’s not uncommon for presidents to use an autopen to sign documents, and it has been used by leaders on both sides of the aisle. However, Comer is questioning whether Biden was really handing down those decisions, given public concerns about his mental and physical acuity that arose toward the end of his term. The New York Times reported that Zients would have been among the top aides relaying Biden’s clemency decisions to assistants, who then drafted those orders before they were circulated back to Biden’s senior officials and then later given final approval. In that same report, Biden said he made every clemency decision on his own. Axios reported earlier this month that Zients signed off on pardons granted to five of Biden’s family members less than 24 hours before he left office. The former president’s allies have pushed back on the Republican-led House Oversight probe, however, denouncing the investigation as politically motivated. “You managed a White House in disarray after public reporting began to focus on the apparent decline of President Biden’s mental capabilities. You reportedly called an all-staff call in July 2024 ‘in which [you] urged President Biden’s team to unite and move forward from Biden’s terrible debate performance[.],’” Comer wrote in a June letter to Zients. “The scope of your responsibilities — both official and otherwise — and personal interactions within the Oval Office cannot go without investigation. If White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive’s condition — or to perform his duties — Congress may need to consider a legislative response.”
‘What would Jesus do?’ Utah students torn on death penalty for Charlie Kirk’s accused killer
OREM, Utah – As Utah Valley University students returned to campus following conservative influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination, those who spoke to Fox News Digital were divided over whether Tyler Robinson should face the death penalty. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced on Tuesday that Utah prosecutors would seek the death penalty against Robinson on multiple charges, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. “I think it’s totally necessary,” Ryder Warner, a UVU student who was entering the courtyard when Kirk was shot last Wednesday, said of a potential death penalty against Robinson. Warner told Fox News Digital that, as a Christian, he didn’t believe in taking another human’s life, but “with this situation, where somebody was just here to share an opinion and lost their life because of their opinion, I think that whoever took their life should be killed, too.” “I think that’s only fair,” he said. CHARLIE KIRK’S KILLING AT UTAH UNIVERSITY PROMPTS SCRUTINY OF SECURITY MEASURES Kirk was shot and killed while speaking to UVU students last Wednesday, Sept. 10. After a 33-hour manhunt, Robinson was arrested for allegedly assassinating Kirk. Gray outlined the formal charges against Robinson during a press conference on Tuesday, which was followed by the suspect’s first court appearance. UTAH LEADERS URGE UNITY FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION: ‘TURNING POINT FOR AMERICA’ Afton Miller, a junior at UVU who said she was 5 to 10 feet away from Kirk when he was shot, said Robinson facing the death penalty “hurts a little bit.” “I’m pro-life,” Miller said. “I believe that somebody deserves to live, but in moments like this, it’s very hard that their family is also losing their son as well. It’s just as painful to lose somebody.” She said it was “extremely traumatic” to witness the assassination of one of her “greatest heroes” on her college campus. UVU student Jessie Ball, who was also on campus when Kirk was assassinated, said last week’s tragedy inspired her to use her voice and speak up like Kirk did. “It’s a hard thing to watch, and as people who probably didn’t see the signs coming, it has to be heartbreaking,” Ball said. “I know my family and I will be praying for them to feel God’s love and the peace through it, but his actions have consequences, and they have a lasting impact, and if that’s what the state agreed on…” James Whitney, another UVU student, told Fox News Digital that “they found the gun in my parents’ backyard.” According to Robinson’s charging documents, investigators found a “bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel” in a wooded area on the northeast end of campus, but authorities have not confirmed the exact location. Whitney said it was “scary” returning to campus. He said he typically tries to stay out of politics because political violence is “becoming normalized.” “I don’t agree with what happened here,” Whitney said. “I don’t think any human being ever deserves to have that kind of hate taken out on their life, ever, including in front of their kids. With the death penalty, I mean, a lot of people here are religious. What would Jesus do?” Whitney asked. And while Whitney emphasized that he didn’t agree with what Robinson did, “especially on my own school grounds,” the UVU student said he didn’t “condone any sort of death in any sort of way,” as the Utah County attorney seeks the death penalty. Meanwhile, Trae Stevens, who is not a UVU student but said he grew up about an hour’s drive south and was visiting the campus on Tuesday to pay his respects, told Fox News Digital it’s “fair” for Robinson to face the death penalty. “I think it’s sad for anybody to die,” Stevens said. “It’s a crazy situation and just to see how it’s affected almost the entire world and that this one man could have such evil in his heart. It’s sad, but I think it’s fair, yes.” UVU classes resumed on Wednesday, one week after Kirk’s assassination. The campus began reopening on Monday as students and locals visited campus to pay their respects to Kirk by leaving flowers and posters. An American flag is now hanging in the UVU courtyard where Kirk was speaking when he was shot. The campus is planning a “Vigil for Unity” on Friday for students, faculty, staff and members of the community to gather in “remembering, healing and reaffirming shared values.” “This attack was not just on an individual, but on the spirit of free expression, civil discourse, and intellectual inquiry that sits at the very foundation of our university,” UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez said in a statement. “The violence that occurred on our campus has shaken us deeply. We remain steadfast in our commitment to learning, dialogue and the values that unite us, even in times of grief. Together we choose hope for the future, and care for each other during this time.”
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,302
Here are the key events on day 1,302 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Published On 18 Sep 202518 Sep 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here is how things stand on Thursday, September 18: Fighting A Ukrainian drone has struck a car in Russia’s Belgorod border region, killing one person and injuring another, according to the region’s governor. The Ukrainian army lost more than 1,500 troops during front-line fighting over the past day, reported Russia’s state TASS news agency, citing the Ministry of Defence. Ukraine has not confirmed the claim, and both sides have engaged in what independent analysts described as unsurprising narrative warfare aimed at projecting military gains. The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said Russia had lost an estimated 1,020 people, along with 360 unmanned aerial vehicles and 36 artillery systems, in the past day. Russia has not confirmed the claim. Meanwhile, Russian forces also hit Ukrainian railway infrastructure facilities, “storage and launch sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as temporary deployment sites”, the Russian Defence Ministry said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media platform X that although Russia had prepared offensives in Sumy, Novopavlivka, Pokrovsk and Zaporizhzhia this year, Russia has lost “so much manpower” that “as of now, they lack the strength for large-scale offensives.” Military Speaking at a joint news conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Zelenskyy said missiles for Western air defence systems were among the first set of US weapons being sent under the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism, which allows NATO states to pay for the transfer of United States-sourced weapons and technology. Ukraine has received more than $2bn so far as part of the PURL scheme, Zelenskyy said, with the total expected to rise to up to $3.6bn in October. Lithuanian prosecutors charged 15 people in connection with detonations of DHL parcels at logistics depots in Europe last year, which prosecutors allege were organised by Russian citizens with ties to Russian military intelligence. In what Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called “a paradigm shift”, Denmark will procure “long-range precision weapons” for the first time in response to the threat posed by Russia. Moscow’s ambassador to Copenhagen said the decision was “pure madness”. Advertisement Politics and diplomacy After a birthday phone call from Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the Russian president – who he referred to as “my friend” – on X, writing that India is “ready to make all possible contributions towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict”. King Charles seemed to gently nudge US President Donald Trump on standing firm in Ukraine’s corner, during a lavish ceremony for Trump during his visit to the United Kingdom, when the British monarch recalled the US-UK alliance during World Wars I and II. “Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace,” the king said. The comments came amid questions over whether Trump has put sufficient pressure on Putin to negotiate a peace deal. Ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly “high-level” week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he would meet with Russian and Ukrainian delegations but was “not optimistic about the short-term progress in the peace process in Ukraine”. The two sides’ positions are too different, he said, with Ukraine driven by “a legitimate interest to preserve its territory” and Russia “determined to [do] something that would mean the occupation of large parts of Ukraine”. Russian nationalists and online bots moved quickly to sow division after the killing of conservative right-wing figure Charlie Kirk, The Associated Press news agency reported, tying his death to US support for Ukraine and even spreading the conspiracy theory that Ukraine was responsible for his death. US President Donald Trump and King Charles speak on day one of Trump’s second state visit to the UK [Yui Mok/Reuters] Economy and energy Ukraine and the US International Development Finance Corporation said they would each commit $75m to a joint investment fund that is part of Kyiv’s minerals deal with Washington. The deal – which Trump has referred to as “payback” for Ukraine aid – was signed in May and will give the US preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals and natural resources licences in exchange for post-war financial and military assistance. Ukraine has gas reserves to meet about 80 to 90 percent of its demand for the upcoming winter, but still needs up to $1bn in additional fuel stockpiled, data show. Russia’s consumer price index rose by 0.04 percent in the week ending September 15, the state statistics agency said, compared with 0.1 percent growth in the previous week. Overall price growth in the year to date stands at 4.08 percent, compared with 5.78 percent for the same period last year. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
ABC to indefinitely halt Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Charlie Kirk remarks
United States television network ABC has announced it will indefinitely cease airing Jimmy Kimmel Live due to comments made by the popular chat show’s host about the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Walt Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday the show would be “preempted indefinitely” due to Kimmel’s comments suggesting the man charged with Kirk’s assassination in Utah last week, Tyler Robinson, is a supporter of US President Donald Trump. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on Monday in a monologue on his long-running late-night talk show. Earlier, Nexstar Media, one of the country’s largest local TV station owners, including at least 28 ABC affiliates, announced it would stop airing the show over Kimmel’s remarks about the Kirk killing. Announcing the move, Nexstar Media President Andrew Alford said Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse”. “We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” he said. While Utah prosecutors have formally charged Robinson with the murder of Charlie Kirk and said they will seek the death penalty, questions remain about a possible motive. Kimmel’s comments also drew condemnation on Wednesday from Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the independent US government TV, radio and internet regulator. Advertisement In an interview with right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson, Carr described Kimmel’s comments as “the sickest conduct possible”, and he also appeared to threaten ABC affiliate licences over the presenter’s remarks. “What people don’t understand is that the broadcasters … have a licence granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” Carr said. Carr explicitly called on ABC affiliates to “push back” on the network’s airing of Jimmy Kimmel Live as they run the risk of “licence revocation” due to a “pattern of news distortion”. Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro said it was important to note that Kimmel is a household name in the US, where many people have watched his talk show for more than 20 years. “What he said on Monday was he suggested the suspected shooter of Charlie Kirk was a pro-Trump Republican,” Zhou-Castro said, adding that Kimmel made his remarks before authorities released text messages that appeared to confirm that the suspected killer was in fact opposed, politically, to Kirk. The fallout from Kimmel’s comment was rapid and grew until the Trump-appointed chair of the FCC, which regulates all broadcasts in the US, demanded that action be taken against the host. Kimmel is not alone in being sanctioned for comments in the aftermath of the Kirk killing. “There have been notable journalists as well as analysts and also just everyday people who have lost their jobs because of comments they made about Charlie Kirk’s death,” Zhou-Castro said. “In fact, the US Vice President JD Vance advocated for people to report on each other to their employers if anyone said something on social media, etcetera, that seemed to disparage Kirk,” she said. Following news of Kimmel’s cancellation on Nexstar, FCC Chairman Carr told The Hollywood Reporter news outlet he wanted to thank the firm “for doing the right thing”. At least one other station group had contacted ABC about the Kimmel show, suggesting that an affiliate revolt may have played a role in the decision, an unnamed source told The Hollywood Reporter. Kimmel’s cancellation is the latest in a spate of firings over the past week, brought on by a conservative backlash to public comments about Kirk’s killing that have been deemed insensitive. Conservatives have mourned Kirk as a martyr who championed patriotism, open debate and Christian values. Others have rebuked his divisive views, including on immigration and Islamophobia, with some also celebrating his death. Journalists, academics and doctors are among those who have been fired or investigated by their employers over comments made about Kirk, mirroring the much-maligned cancellation campaigns of recent years associated with America’s left and sparking debate over the limits of free speech in the US. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
‘A script’: Texts of alleged Charlie Kirk killer fuel conspiracy theories
The deluge of conspiracy theories began almost the moment authorities revealed the text messages allegedly sent by the suspected assassin of right-wing American activist Charlie Kirk. After prosecutors in the US state of Utah published alleged text exchanges between 22-year-old Tyler Robinson and his romantic partner on Tuesday, countless social media users, including numerous prominent influencers, cast doubt on their authenticity. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Some outright claimed that the texts, in which Robinson appears to confess to killing Kirk, had been fabricated by authorities. Many of the posts suggested that the language and tone of the exchanges did not match someone of Robinson’s age, and the account of the shooting was too forthcoming and detailed to be believable. Notably, at a time of extreme political polarisation in the US, the conspiracy theorising united figures on the left and right. A screen shows Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the killing of political activist Charlie Kirk, as he attends a court appearance remotely before the 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on September 16, 2025 [Pool via AFP] Matt Walsh, a right-wing commentator and podcast host with millions of followers on X and YouTube, suggested the exchanges had been scripted to absolve Robinson’s transgender partner of any involvement in the shooting. “This feels like a strategy they cooked up from watching too much TV,” Walsh said on X. Utah Governor Spencer Cox has said that the partner, described as a “male transitioning to female”, had no advance knowledge of the crime and has been cooperating fully with authorities. Advertisement Steven Bannon, US President Donald Trump’s former adviser, said on his podcast that he was “not buying” the texts, describing them as “too stilted, too much like a script”. On the other side of the political spectrum, Majid Padellan, a progressive influencer who goes by Brooklyn Dad Defiant on social media, said he did not believe for “one second” that the texts had been written by Robinson. “I didn’t know him personally, but I know that no 22 year old writes text messages like this,” Padellan said on X. “This feels like that Steve Buscemi skateboard meme ‘How do you do, fellow kids?”’ Liberal commentator Joanne Carducci, who posts under the moniker JoJoFromJerz, noted that the official narrative around the assassination had prompted rare agreement across the ideological divide. “No one is buying these text messages. No one on the left or the right,” Carducci said on X. “We cannot agree on a damn thing anymore. But we agree on this. If that doesn’t speak volumes, nothing does.” The Utah County Attorney did not respond to a request for comment about the claims online. Utah County Attorney Jeffrey S. Gray speaks during a press conference about the charges against Tyler Robinson in Provo, Utah, on September 16, 2025 [Jim Urquhart/Reuters] Speculation and conspiracy theories have become a routine feature of the reaction to high-profile acts of violence in the US in the polarised and trigger-happy landscape of social media and online forums. After a gunman shot dead a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband in June, right-wing conspiracy theorists claimed that the shooting had been perpetrated by a left-wing extremist or carried out on behalf of the state’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz. The alleged gunman, Vance Boelter, espoused staunchly conservative views on issues including abortion and LGBTQ rights. The 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas; the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida; and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting all spawned right-wing conspiracy theories, including the claim that the attacks had been staged to give the US government a pretext to curtail gun rights. While many conspiracy theories have been driven by a particular ideological faction, Kirk’s assassination is the latest event to fuel unfounded claims with “cross-ideological appeal”, said Eric Oliver, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who studies conspiracy theories. Claims about Robinson fit the mould of theories about the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the pharmaceutical industry, which also cut across partisan and ideological lines, Oliver said. Advertisement “People are also really emotionally charged by this, both on the left and the right, and will often gravitate to stories that rationalise their fear, rage, or feelings of powerlessness,” Oliver told Al Jazeera. The “extraordinary circumstances” of Kirk’s murder, including a relative lack of information about Robinson, had also left a vacuum that was being filled by people “already suspicious of anything either the government does or this administration does”, Oliver added. The transcripts of Robinson’s alleged texts released by prosecutors provided some of the clearest indications yet of a possible motive for assassinating Kirk, who was lauded by conservatives but seen as an inflammatory figure on the left for his right-wing stances on immigration, abortion and transgender rights, among other issues. Robinson allegedly told his partner that he had “had enough” of Kirk’s “hatred” and “some hate can’t be negotiated out”. Authorities previously announced that they recovered bullet casings inscribed with a number of politically-charged and internet subculture-influenced messages, including “Hey fascist! Catch!” Prosecutors, who allege Kirk was targeted over his “political expression”, have charged Robinson with aggravated murder and six other charges. That the released details of Robinson’s alleged communication with his partner after Kirk’s assassination have only further fuelled conspiracies is not surprising, suggest experts. “Many people have a worldview in which conspiracies are going on all the time and explain our social and political circumstances – those people believe lots and lots of conspiracy theories and exist on both the right and left,” said Joseph Uscinski, a professor of political science at the University of Miami, whose research focuses on conspiracy theories. And though conspiracy theorising has become rampant on social media, the platforms themselves are not the problem, Uscinski said. “People have worldviews; some of those worldviews make conspiracy theories easy to believe, whether those people are on social media or not,” he told Al Jazeera. “Conspiracy theories existed long before social media and may
The ‘Door to Hell’ burning for 54 years; where is it and how did it begin?
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BIG tension for Pakistan as India gears up to buy 114 Rafale jets, 6 P-8I jets, and more post Op Sindoor
The central government is set to ink several major deals in the defence sector, which will strengthen the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy.