Podcast Summary: Bannon's War Room Battleground EP 850 — Investigation and Arraignment of Kirk Assassination (Cont.)

Date: September 16, 2025
Host: Steve Bannon
Guest: Michael Patrick Leahy

Overview

This episode focuses on the investigation and arraignment surrounding the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Steve Bannon is joined by Michael Patrick Leahy, a longtime conservative commentator and investigative journalist, for an in-depth discussion about the radicalization of armed transgender and LGBTQ militias, the integrity and plausibility of new evidence (notably text messages), law enforcement response, and the cultural and political factors in Utah connected to the case. The episode also critiques mainstream media narratives and addresses deeper concerns about the direction of American society, particularly regarding education and political leadership.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background on Michael Patrick Leahy and the Nashville Shooting

(00:51–03:23)

• Bannon introduces Leahy as an expert in investigating violence linked to radical groups, especially in the wake of the Nashville school shooting.
• Leahy’s credentials span from Tea Party organizing to launching newspapers and radio shows.

2. Rise of Armed Transgender/LGBTQ Militias

(03:24–06:12)

• Leahy details the existence of numerous armed and radicalized LGBTQ militia groups.

• Example: “Armed Queers of Salt Lake City,” led by “Irmaiya Fanayan,” a transgender Iranian immigrant, who allegedly turned too radical for more mainstream groups like Pink Pistols.

• Bannon questions how such groups are organized and why the FBI’s response seems inadequate.

  “There is a very deep group of transgender LGBTQ militias around the country. ... Armed Queers of Salt Lake City held training just a few miles from the site of the shooting.”
  (Michael Patrick Leahy, 03:25)

  “If God and the Holy Spirit got you at birth as a boy, you’re a boy...I want to go to the radicalness of it. When he’s saying he’s in a group called Pink Pistols and they say this guy’s too radical, you’re just not welcome here.”
  (Steve Bannon, 04:19)

3. Law Enforcement & Military Infiltration

(06:13–10:31)

• Bannon and Leahy discuss law enforcement’s slow action and compare it to how radical left and anti-war groups were infiltrated in the 1960s.

• Delays in releasing manifestos (e.g., from the Nashville shooter) are criticized.

• Leahy confirms that “about 85%” of the Nashville manifesto has been released after legal pressure.

• Both agree the FBI and DOJ are slow even under a “Trump 2.0” administration.

  “The FBI and the Department of Justice, Even under Trump 2.0, have been slow on the uptake. ...they should really, really go in and begin aggressive investigation into all of these violent LGBTQ transgender groups, because they are armed and obviously they are dangerous.”
  (Michael Patrick Leahy, 11:24)

4. Polling and Generational Divide on Political Violence

(11:42–14:17)

• Bannon cites a poll from Scott Rasmussen indicating that 15% of Americans, and 26% of those under age 35, believed Kirk’s murder was justified.

• Discussion about the radicalization of younger generations links back to educational institutions and social movements.

  “This is the radical nature, and this is why we have to escalate to take down this 26%. ...There is no common ground.”
  (Steve Bannon, 12:30–13:15)

5. Analysis of Evidence: Suspect’s Text Messages and Plausibility

(14:17–25:15)

• The episode plays and analyzes a statement from the police describing the suspect’s detailed and confessional text messages to his roommate/romantic partner.

• Bannon and Leahy express skepticism:

  • The texts are “too on the nose,” almost “choreographed” to exonerate others.
  • The specificity and emotional tone are compared to scripted Hollywood drama, not a panicked post-crime exchange (“Is that what wells up in you? A Shakespeare-like sonnet?” — Bannon).
  • Bannon and Leahy question why the roommate and others aren’t treated as possible accomplices or at least key witnesses.

  “If you were in Hollywood and walked in with that script to a producer, the first thing they would say: it’s too on the nose...People in those situations are not, you know, you’re so jacked up, you’re so afraid they’re going to come and get you and kill you.”
  (Steve Bannon, 22:07)

  “It’s almost as if they are choreographed to get the roommate ... outside the scope of the investigation.”
  (Michael Patrick Leahy, 23:48)

6. Mainstream Media Reaction and Narrative

(19:08–22:06, revisited at 31:01–34:50)

• ABC News anchor David Muir is quoted describing the suspect’s texts as “very touching...a very intimate portrait.”

• Bannon reacts with derision, criticizing the media for humanizing the killer and not focusing on the brutality of the act.

  “If that guy is on the payroll at ABC News...he’s just adding to this madness. It’s a duality. ...How can this guy be a cold-blooded murderer? This is what they got all the freaks today showing up to.”
  (Steve Bannon, 19:57)

  “The reporters getting teary eyed and choked up because wasn’t that tender? Who gets the time to write a Shakespeare sonnet to your estranged or your lover? ...I am absolutely not buying this.”
  (Steve Bannon, 31:10–32:35)

7. Timeline and Physical Evidence Inconsistencies

(34:50–39:40)

• Bannon scrutinizes security footage timelines (peg leg, no peg leg), weapon assembly, and the suspect’s ability to execute the shooting logistics.
• Suggests additional people should be under investigation, especially the roommate and everyone involved in the Discord chat.
• Reiterates skepticism about the “scripted” nature of the evidence and demands more transparency and investigation.

8. Utah Politics, Governor Cox, and Institutional Responsibility

(40:49–43:40)

• Audio is played from a critical ad against Governor Spencer Cox, accused of pushing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in schools and fostering the policy climate responsible for violence from radicalized youth.
• Bannon and Leahy argue Cox and his policies have allowed “armed queers” and radical groups to thrive.
• Leahy references a “metastasizing” problem of socialist/Marxist ideology among educators and students, dating back to 2017.
• Bannon calls for a broad investigation into not just individuals but institutions and political leaders like Cox.

9. Broader Cultural Problems: Education & the New Left

(43:40–49:11)

• Bannon asserts the radicalization spreads beyond public schools into private institutions via SEL (Social Emotional Learning).
• Leahy insists introducing choice and reform in public education is critical to combating the spread of these ideologies.
• Repeated emphasis on the necessity for right-wing escalation and “no unity” with opposition after Kirk’s murder.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[W]e’re in the war room, baby. ...in the war room, you’re a boy or a girl, the way God assigned it and the Holy Spirit assigned it at birth.”
  (Steve Bannon, 04:19)

• “Let me go back to the poll...15% Americans believed that the murder of Charlie Kirk was justified. And that was about 26% of people under the age of 35.”
  (Michael Patrick Leahy, 10:31)

• “Dad’s going to be so mad about grandpa’s rifle. Dude, your father is supposedly maga. ...You just murdered the most important young person in the world in the conservative movement, you murdered him. ...I am absolutely not buying this.”
  (Steve Bannon, 31:10–32:35)

• “This thing has metastasized. That’s why...26% of those under age 35...thought that the assassination of Charlie Kirk was at least partially justified. Just terrible. And we just have to stop it. ... We have to introduce choice into public schools.”
  (Michael Patrick Leahy, 43:40)

Important Timestamps

• [00:51] — Introduction & Overview of Charlie Kirk assassination
• [03:24] — Leahy: Rise of armed transgender/LGBTQ militias
• [06:12] — FBI scrutiny and response to militia groups
• [11:24] — Leahy: FBI and DOJ slow response, even under Trump
• [14:17] — Police report on detailed suspect texts (reads full exchange)
• [19:08] — David Muir (ABC News) segment and Bannon’s reaction
• [22:06] — Bannon: Critique of the plausibility of suspect’s texts
• [23:48] — Leahy: Skepticism over the text message narrative
• [31:01] — Bannon: Further critique of the text messages, language, and emotional tone
• [40:49] — Audio from ad criticizing Utah Gov. Cox
• [43:40] — Leahy: Problems in public education and rise of socialist values

Conclusion

Bannon and Leahy paint a picture of a broader crisis: radicalization within transgender/LGBTQ militias, a slow and potentially complicit law enforcement response, mainstream media misrepresentation, and left-wing cultural influence via institutions like schools and state government. The episode is marked by skepticism over official accounts, calls for sweeping investigations, and insistence on the urgency of right-wing action to address what they see as a deepening cultural and political threat.