The Michael Knowles Show

Episode 1814 – "The Media Are Lying About Charlie Kirk’s Killer — Here Are the Facts"
Date: September 15, 2025
Host: Michael Knowles

Episode Overview

In this episode, Michael Knowles delivers an in-depth examination of the aftermath and media coverage of the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Knowles lays out the facts as currently reported about the suspect’s background, motivations, and ideology, sharply criticizing major media outlets for obscuring or misrepresenting these details. The episode explores the wider implications for political discourse and social trust in America, arguing that the reaction to Kirk’s murder by the elite left signals a dangerous undermining of civil society.

Key Discussion Points

1. New Information About the Suspect

Timestamp: 00:00–07:37

• Suspect’s Background:
  • Not a student at the Utah university where Kirk was killed; drove ~3 hours to campus.
  • Did well academically in high school, briefly attended Utah State on a scholarship, dropped out after a semester, entered a tech apprenticeship.
• Ideological Evidence:
  • Bullets included engravings:
    • “HEY, FASCIST! CATCH.” – obvious anti-fascist (leftist/Antifa) slogan.
    • “Bella Ciao” – an explicitly radical left-activist Italian song associated with Antifa.
    • “Notice bulge owo what’s this” – Furry subculture phrase; Knowles connects it to a left-leaning online subculture, noting furries are 25x more likely to identify as trans.
  • At a family dinner, suspect said he hated Kirk for “spreading hate,” echoing leftist rhetoric.
• Key Quote:

  “Seems pretty clear what his ideological motivation is.” (Knowles, 04:01)

2. Evidence of Leftist Affiliation and Relationships

Timestamp: 07:37–12:22

• Confirmation of Relationship:
  • Governor of Utah confirms on CNN that the suspect had a transgender, male-to-female live-in boyfriend, who is cooperating with the investigation.
    • Gov. Cox: “...the roommate was a romantic date partner, a male transitioning to female... He has been very cooperative...” (07:49–08:16)
• Eyewitness Testimony:
  • Neighbor confirms the suspect and partner were in a romantic relationship, partner was “transitioning” (10:08–10:48).
• Online Activity:
  • Trans partner had accounts on sites like FurAffinity; posted pro-Biden content.

3. Official Acknowledgment of Leftist Motivation

Timestamp: 12:22–14:10

• Gov. Cox (NBC ‘Meet the Press’):

  “There clearly was a leftist ideology with this assassin.” (12:22)

  • To Wall Street Journal: “Deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”

4. Media Distortion and Public Confusion

Timestamp: 14:10–22:57

• Media Spin:
  • CNN claims bullets reveal “a deep immersion in an irony-soaked online world... meanings can be difficult to precisely decipher.”
    • Knowles: “Catch this Fascist—is that difficult to decipher?... Is any of this difficult to decipher?” (16:41–17:41)
  • The Guardian questions the shooter’s leftism, citing his Republican family.
  • New York Times finds “messages relied on enigmatic, coded online communication style.”
    • Knowles ridicules the paper for missing obvious leftist signals.
• Root of Confusion:
  • Cites recent YouGov poll: Plurality of Americans think the shooter was a Republican (24%), only 21% say Democrat, 40% unsure.

  “The misinformation works. People are more likely to believe that the shooter was a Republican than that he was a Democrat.” (20:45)

5. Leftist Responses: Downplaying or Justifying Violence

Timestamp: 22:57–28:15

• Elite Left Reaction:
  • Reuters panelist: “It doesn’t matter [if] it was from the left...” (23:02–24:10)
  • Knowles: “Amazing lies... She says the man who nearly murdered Donald Trump... wasn’t from the left, mind you... his only political donation... was to Act Blue.” (24:16–25:54)
  • Statistics on political violence are manipulated by reclassifying left-wing attacks as non-political.

6. Elite Figures & Institutions Celebrate or Excuse Murder

Timestamp: 28:15–35:05

• Hasan Piker (Twitch presenter, quoted in New York Times):
  • Explicitly called for murder of “capitalists.”

    “Kill them, kill those, murder those in the street. Let the streets soak in their red capitalist bloods, dude.”

  • Knowles: “He’s being exalted by the New York Times as one of the voices to listen to in the wake of this assassination.” (30:54)
• The Nation magazine:
  • Publishes article: “Charlie Kirk’s legacy deserves no mourning.”
• Oxford Union President:
  • Tweets “Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s effing go. Prayers up.”
  • Publicly advocates for political violence as a mechanism for change:

    “Some institutions are too broken... they must and should be taken down by any means necessary.” (33:25)

7. The National Trauma and the Realization

Timestamp: 35:05–41:30

• Why Kirk's Assassination is a Trauma:
  • It’s not just the killing, but the elite reaction—justification, celebration, and implicit threats to all moderate/conservative Americans.
  • Knowles: The logic is, “He says his beliefs out loud. That’s the only difference. The only difference between Charlie Kirk and half this country is he had the guts to say it out loud… and they murdered him for that.”

  • “Implicit in all of that is a threat: you shut your mouth or you’re next, and we’ll cheer it on.” (37:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Media Obfuscation:

  “If he had held a giant billboard saying 'I am an ideologically consistent leftist' while he committed his crime, it could not be clearer. How is it that people could be confused? Because the liberal media are lying about it.” (14:07)

• On Political Violence & the Marketplace of Ideas:

  “It is not possible to have an open marketplace of ideas when people shoot up the marketplace.” (45:32)

• On Societal Consequences:

  “Order is not contrary to liberty... Order is the prerequisite for those things. Liberty requires order. You cannot simultaneously be free and ignorant. You cannot simultaneously be free and undisciplined.” (48:02)

• On Ostracism and Consequences:

  “People who go out and say that ordinary normal conservatives should be murdered wholesale... Those people need to be ostracized from society. They should be corrected first in charity and graciousness. If they refuse... they need to lose their social standing. They should not be welcome into polite society. And in some cases, they should lose their jobs.” (49:24–49:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Background on the Suspect – 00:00–07:37
• Confirmation by Governor of Utah – 07:37–08:16; 12:22
• Eyewitness/Neighbor Testimony – 10:08–10:57
• Media Spin Examples (CNN, Guardian, NYT) – 14:10–17:41
• Polling on Public Perception – 20:30–21:30
• Elite Left Voices and Justification of Violence – 28:15–35:05
• National Trauma, Larger Implications – 35:05–41:30
• Argument for Restoring Order – 45:32–53:00
• Corporate/Institutional Responses – 51:08–52:45

Action Steps & Knowles’ Conclusions

• Restore Order:
  • Advocates for social and professional ostracism for those publicly celebrating or advocating violence.
  • Supports recent firings and suspensions by companies (e.g., Microsoft, Office Depot, Delta, law firms) of individuals who celebrated Kirk’s assassination.
  • Law enforcement must pursue and suppress organized leftist terror groups like Antifa.
• Defend Debate, Not Violence:
  • Reminds listeners that the purpose of the “marketplace of ideas” is to reach the truth through debate, not violence or intimidation.
• Warning on Societal Survival:
  • Warns that a nation cannot survive if large portions of society openly condone or celebrate the murder of political opponents.

Final Thoughts

Knowles closes by reiterating that, in his view, all credible evidence points to the assassin being deeply connected to radical left-wing ideology, and that the ongoing attempts by major media to cloud this fact have successfully confused much of the American public. He strongly criticizes celebrations of Kirk’s death among “elite” institutions and figures on the left, arguing that such reactions signal urgent social and existential problems for American democracy and civic life.

This summary captures the core themes, quotes, and evidence presented in the episode, providing a thorough representation of Michael Knowles’ argument and the surrounding cultural context without non-content sections or advertisements.