By Isaac White

Copyright newsbusters

MSNBC’s Katy Tur Reports

September 16, 2025

2:55:12 p.m. Eastern

KEN DILANIAN: It’s pretty clear the roommate had no idea this was happening. And that’s buttressed by the fact that that they’re not charging the roommate. So, the roommate is incredulous. And the roommate asked why he did it, and he says, he answers, “I’ve had enough of his hatred. Some hatred can’t be negotiated out.”

But—and we also learned, of course, that, we got to read between the lines a little bit here, but he’s in this same-sex relationship, and he explains to us, or explains that his father is MAGA. His family is conservative and traditional. But there’s a lot more, I think, that the authorities know about that dynamic that they haven’t put in here.

So, at the end of the day, we’re not really left with a clear motive. We’re left with clear evidence that this was political, that he targeted Charlie Kirk because of Charlie Kirk’s statements and beliefs that he disagreed with. But so much else is left unsaid here.

But again, the fact that this Tyler Robinson just appears completely rational and lucid—and thought he could get away with it. Talked about trying to hide the evidence and retrieve the gun, and then only later it became clear to him that that he was caught and then negotiating his surrender. And we’re not really giving the information about what the calculus was. He’s suggesting at one point he would rather take his own life than be brought into custody. Apparently his parents and a family friend talked him out of that. We don’t—they didn’t tell us whether he’s talking now, whether he has expressed remorse. But we know from the other Discord chat, that was reported on by the New York Times, that initially, when he was confronted by some of his friends, he joked and played it off and just expressed no remorse whatsoever. And then in the Discord chat that the Washington Post is reporting on, he acknowledges that he did it, but—and says he’s sorry to the to those members, but does not express remorse for the killing whatsoever. So this is a really chilling picture we’re getting of this alleged shooter, Katie.

KATY TUR: Chris, is that how you see this suspect as well, as a rational and lucid actor?

CHRIS O’LEARY: Well, they certainly didn’t lay out any clear cut ideology, and they might have more of that. But what we’ve seen in the last couple of years is—we call it salad bar ideology, where people are taking different pieces of different things. But it’s not anything that we saw historically in terrorism and political violence, which is why you see some of these groups like 764 and O9A, Order of Nine Angles, which are really weird hybrids of different things. Ken laid it out perfectly.

I will say, one of the things we’re seeing is this, this kind of theme of nihilism. So, if you look back on the shooting in Minnesota, the Catholic school, even back to the first Trump assassination attempt, that’s probably the one thing you can pull out of it. Hopelessness, frustration, depression, coming out of COVID or brought on by other things. People have talked about violent video games—that’s not in and of itself the driver. But essentially your only socialization is you are on Discord, in the gaming community, and that’s not real personal interaction. So, all of these things are contributing factors to some of these acts of violence. And some of these young men are looking at society and saying, “Well, what for?” So, that doesn’t mean he’s not a rational actor, but there might be underlying issues.

TUR: I want to ask Brandy about nihilism, but I just want to focus on for one more second. I mean, he does say that he wants to kill Charlie Kirk because of the evil and the hate that he spreads. Would that not be considered a pretty clear-cut motive?

O’LEARY: It’s certainly a motive, but is it necessarily clearly an ideology and part of a broader, you know, movement and political violence or terrorism? And statutorily it probably wouldn’t get us there.