Tyler Robinson and Charlie Kirk Both Believed in Jesus, but Practiced Different Religions

In case you haven’t heard, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Washington, Utah, has officially been charged with the murder of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. At first, not much was known about Robinson, other than that his father helped turn him in, making him the prime suspect. But now, more details have emerged, much of it coming from his family and those close to him, including his roommate and alleged partner.

For starters, we now know Robinson was raised in a Republican-leaning household, and while his political views became more intense over the past few years, they began shifting left, per ABC7. Clearly, Robinson’s political views didn’t align with Kirk’s, but surprisingly, that doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to religion. Here’s the religion Robinson followed, and the irony of Kirk’s comments about it just before he was shot.

Tyler Robinson was raised in a Mormon household with his parents, Amber and Matt Robinson, and his two younger brothers, according to the New York Post. Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and are considered a sector of the Christian faith, since they follow many traditional teachings of Christianity, according to Pew Research. Like other Christians, Mormons believe that “Jesus rose from the dead” and they regularly pray and attend religious services.

According to Pew Research, more than 75 percent of Mormons believe the president of the LDS Church is a prophet, while a slightly lower percentage believe the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith after having been written by ancient prophets. For context, Smith was the founder and first president of the LDS Church and was assassinated in 1844.

Although Mormons tend to consider themselves a branch of Christianity, some Christians don’t recognize Mormonism as part of mainstream Christianity or don’t agree with its teachings. But Charlie Kirk didn’t appear to be one of them.

Unlike some, Kirk seemed to side with Mormons. In fact, he was heard praising the religion just before he was shot. Kirk, who followed the evangelical Christian faith, told the crowd that had gathered to hear him speak, and who subsequently witnessed the shooting, “I love how Mormons send missionaries around the world, I love how polite they are… Half my team is Mormon,” before calling out specific names of those individuals.

He added, “Mormons are great people. Let me just say, I’m an evangelical Christian, but I’m not one of those guys that hates on Mormons.”

While it’s not entirely clear if Robinson continued to follow the faith and practice the religion, as statements from his family suggest he’s changed a lot in the past few years, it appears his motives for targeting Kirk stem more from his political views.

Robinson hasn’t been cooperating with officials in revealing his motive, but his parents reportedly said he told them he committed the crime because “there is too much evil and the guy [Charlie Kirk] spreads too much hate.” He also reportedly messaged his partner, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” according to ABC7.