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The Dan Bongino Show
'WE GOT HIM' - Charlie's Killer In Custody | Episode 124
00:48:21
The suspect in Charlie Kirk's assassination has been captured. Is this case closed, or the start of a much bigger investigation?
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- [00:01]
A
Everybody, welcome to Vince on a Friday. It is so good to have you with us. The best audience anywhere. We have breaking news this morning, of course, the President of the United States announcing that the assassin, the suspect who's believed to have assassinated Charlie Kirk, has been taken into custody overnight. He's been captured. We've got the details ahead. And for those of you who are joining us live on Rumble, yes, we will carry this FBI press conference set to take place momentarily. So stay with us here. Stay locked in. We're going to have it all. Glad to have you with us this morning. I want to thank the great sponsors who do make this show possible each and every day and support conservatives like us. Whether as a hedge against inflation or just sensible diversification, Birch Gold Group believes that every American should own physical gold. And they want to make it easy for you. Until September 30th, if you're a first time gold buyer, Birch Gold is offering a rebate of up to $10,000 in free metals for on qualifying purchases. To claim eligibility and start the process, request an information kit now. Just text Vince to 989-898 plus Birch Gold can help you roll an existing IRA or 401K into an IRA in gold and you're still eligible for a rebate in free metals of up to $10,000. Make right now your first time to buy gold. Take advantage of this amazing rebate of up to $10,000 when you buy gold by September 30th. Take care of yourself and your family. Just text my name. Vince to 989-898. Claim your eligibility today. Again, text Vince to 9,898. 98 message and data rates apply. We do begin today with this breaking news that the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk has been captured. We now have a couple of details about him and it's all gonna be emerging more in a press conference in just moments as we're carrying this live. Tyler Robinson is the name of the suspect. 22 years old from Utah. And they say that his father and a minister and a local U.S. marshal were all involved in bringing this suspect in overnight. A lot of developments overnight. The President of the United States was the man to break this news this morning, appearing on the Fox News Channel. Here's what the President said live on television. Cut one look at this.
- [02:30]
B
I think with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody. Right in custody. Everyone did a great job. We worked with the local police, the governor. Everybody did a great job. You know, getting somebody that you start off with Absolutely nothing. And we started off with a clip that made him look like an ant. That was almost useless. We just saw there was somebody up there. And so much work has been done over the last two and a half days. You know, it's amazing actually, when you start off with that and then all of a sudden you, you get lucky or talent or whatever it is. But yeah, we're, I think we're in great shape. Mr. President, he's in custody.
- [03:11]
A
He's in custody. The President announcing that to that couch full of hosts on Fox who had no idea what he was about to say. They started, I think, with a small talk. He got right into a major announcement. And now we are getting a major announcement. Here is the FBI, Cash Patel and gentlemen and others stepping up. Take a listen here at today's press conference.
- [03:31]
C
We will hear from Governor Cox, FBI Director Cash Patel and Sheriff Mike Smith. We also have with us Utah DPS Commissioner Bo Mason, Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bowles, and local and federal law enforcement partners. Following the remarks today, Governor Cox, Director Patel and Commissioner Mason will take questions.
- [03:59]
A
Thank you. Waiting on remarks. Everybody's getting assembled here.
- [04:06]
C
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We got him. On the evening of September 11, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident. This information was relayed to the Utah County Sheriff's Office and scene investigators at Utah Valley University. This information was also conveyed to the FBI. Investigators reviewed additional footage, video footage from UVU surveillance and identified Robinson arriving on UVU campus in a gray Dodge Challenger at approximately 8:29am on September 10, in which he is observed on video in a plain maroon T shirt, light colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light colored shoes. When encountered in person by investigators in Washington county on September 12, the early morning hours, Robinson was observed in consistent clothing with those surveillance images. Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson who stated that Robinson had become more political in recent years. The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10th. And in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to uvu. They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate. The family member also confirmed Robinson had a gray Dodge Challenger. Investigators identified an individual as the roommate of Robinson. Investigators interviewed that roommate who stated that his roommate referring To Robinson made a joke on Discord. Investigators asked if he would show them the messages on Discord. He opened it and showed several messages to investigators and allowed investigators to take photos of the screen as each message was was shown by Robinson's rooming. These photos consisted of various messages including content of messages between the phone contact named Tyler with an emoji icon and Robinson's roommate's device. The content of these messages included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel. The messages also refer to engraving bullets and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique. Investigators noted inscriptions that had been engraved on casings found with the rifle. Inscriptions on a fired casing read notices bulges, capital O. Wo. What's this? Question mark. Inscriptions on the three unfired casings read, hey, fascist. Exclamation point, catch. Exclamation point, up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol and three down arrow symbols. A second unfired casing red. Oh, bella, chow, bella, chow, bella, chow, chow, chow. And a third unfired. Casey read. If you read this, you are gay. Lmao. I want to thank the family members of Tyler Robinson who did the right thing in this case and were able to bring him into law enforcement as well. I especially want to thank the family of Charlie Kirk, Erica, Charlie's parents, his children. I want us to be thinking of them as we bring justice in this case. They will be involved in that justice. We will be working very closely with them as we move through this process as well. This is a very sad day for again for our country, a terrible day for the state of Utah. But I'm grateful that at this moment we have an opportunity to bring closure to this very dark chapter in our nation's history. With that, I'll now turn the. Turn the microphone over to the director.
- [08:34]
A
Of the FBI, Patel Cash, who did not speak last night at the press conference. They were hot on this guy's trail.
- [08:41]
D
This is what happens when you let good cops be cops. The FBI and our partners are proud to stand here today together to bring justice to the family of Charlie Kirk and honor his memory. I want to express my deep gratitude to President Trump, the Vice President, and the entire White House who have been so incredibly supportive with both resources and just personally to the FBI as a team. They had our backs the entire way. And I just want to express my gratitude for giving us the resources we need to operate in this space to bring this sort of justice at this sort of speed. In 33 hours, we have made historic progress for Charlie in less than 36 hours. 33, to be precise. Thanks to the full weight of the federal government and leading out with the partners here in the state of Utah and Governor Cox, the suspect was apprehended in historic time period. And I want to highlight what Governor Cox said. This would not have been possible without you, the media, and you, the public. That's why we went so public so fast and were so transparent. We're committed to that transparency. Last night, we had a total of approximately 7,000 interviews. Excuse me.
- [09:49]
A
7,000 leads, 7,000 tips.
- [09:51]
D
As of this morning, thanks to your great work, we have over 11,000 leads that were called in to the FBI, and we are running out every single lead that we can.
- [10:01]
A
Amazing.
- [10:01]
D
Every one of those leads will be run out.
- [10:05]
C
Thank you again to our incredible law enforcement team who has worked so hard. Sheriff, I got a solid 90 minutes last night, so I'm probably the most well rested person up here. Ladies and gentlemen. I hit the microphone, so I hope you'll permit me a moment just to share a few more thoughts about where we are.
- [10:27]
A
This is Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
- [10:29]
C
Maybe a little bit of where we go from here. I don't want to get too preachy, but I think it's important that we, with eyes wide open, understand what's happening in our country today. I've heard people say, well, why are we so invested in this? There's violence happening all across our country, and violence is tragic. Everywhere and every life taken is a child of God who deserves our love and respect and dignity. This is certainly about the tragic death, assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk. But it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals. This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, of who we have been and who we could be in better times. Political violence is different than any other type of violence for lots of different reasons. One, because in the very act that Charlie championed of expression, that freedom of expression that is enshrined in our founding documents, in having his life taken in that very act makes it more difficult for people to feel like they can share their ideas, that they can speak freely. We will never be able to solve all the other problems, including the violence problems that people are worried about if we can't have a clash of Ideas safely and securely, even, especially those ideas with which you disagree. That's why this matters so much. Over the last 48 hours, I have been as angry as I have ever been, as sad as I have ever been, and it was as anger pushed me to the brink. It was actually Charlie's words that pulled me back. I'd like to share some of those. And specifically right now, if I could, I need to talk to the young people in our state, in my state and all across the country. As President Trump reminded me, he said, you know who really loved Charlie? The youths. He's right. Young people love Charlie, and young people hated Charlie. And Charlie went into those places anyway. And these are the words that have helped me. Charlie said, when people stop talking, that's when you get violence. He said, the weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive. Welcome without judgment, love without condition, forgive without limit. He said, always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much. A few months ago, I referenced this. Last night, Charlie posted to social media. When things are moving very fast and people are losing their minds and it's important to stay grounded, turn off your phone, read scripture, spend time with friends, and remember, Internet fury is not real life. It's going to be okay.
- [14:27]
A
That's the Christian take. That's the adult take.
- [14:30]
C
When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to commit violence. He said, what we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable agreement, being able to have reasonable agreement where violence is not an option. Now, again, to my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage. It feels like rage is the only option. But through those words, we have a reminder that we can choose a different path. Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now. Not by pretending differences don't matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations. I think we need more moral clarity right now. I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence. Violence is violence.
- [15:39]
A
Yeah.
- [15:41]
C
And there is one person responsible for what happened here, and that person is now in custody and will be charged soon and will be held accountable.
- [15:53]
A
We have to be careful here. The left, though, has inflamed these weak and vicious minds.
- [16:00]
C
I want to thank my fellow Utahans. You know, this bad stuff happens. And for 33 hours, I was praying that if this had to happen here, that it Wouldn't be one of us that somebody drove from another state. Somebody came from another country. Sadly, that prayer was not answered the way I hoped for, just because I thought it would make it easier on us if we could just say, hey, we don't do that here. And indeed, Utah is a special place. We lead the nation in charitable giving. We lead the nation in service every year. But it did happen here, and it was one of us. But I want you to look at how Utahns reacted the last two nights. There was no rioting. There was no looting. There were no cars set on fire.
- [17:12]
A
That's right.
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C
No violence.
- [17:13]
A
Yeah, that's right.
- [17:14]
C
There were. There were vigils and prayers and people coming together to share the humanity.
- [17:23]
A
That's conservatives.
- [17:24]
C
That, ladies and gentlemen, I believe, is the answer to this. We can return violence with violence. We can return hate with hate. And that's the problem with political violence, is it metastasizes because we can always point the finger at the other side. And at some point, we have to find an off ramp or it's going to get much, much worse.
- [17:48]
A
Yes, that's right.
- [17:49]
C
But see, these are choices that we can make. History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country, but every single one of us gets to choose right now. If this is a turning point for us, we get to make decisions. We have our agency. And I desperately call on every American, Republican, Democrat, liberal, progressive, conservative, maga, all of us, to please, please, please follow what Charlie taught me.
- [18:29]
A
Christ.
- [18:31]
C
I'll just. I'll just conclude with words I share often from a friend and author, Yuval Levin, who was asked if he was optimistic about our country. And he said, I'm not optimistic. I hate optimism. God, that sounds bad. But he said optimism is a vice. It's this idea that good things are just going to happen. He said, in the history of the world, good things have never just happened. He said, I'm not optimistic, but I am hopeful. And hope is the virtue that sits between the vices of optimism and pessimism. Hope is the idea that good things are going to happen because we can make them so. I still believe in our country, and I know Charlie Kirk believed in our country. I still believe that there is more good among us than evil. And I still believe that we can change the course of history. I'm hopeful because Americans can make it so.
- [19:40]
A
All right, what we're gonna do is we're gonna dip back into this in just a moment. We are learning a lot right now just about the killer, the Suspect who's now in custody. That's Tyler Robinson, 22 years old. They talked about establishing the gray Dodge Challenger he used. They talked about how they were tracking the clothing that he was wearing. He confessed to his father that he was the killer, the father was involved in turning Tyler Robinson in. That all happened transpiring last night overnight. I can tell you that I know this morning that these guys definitely did not sleep last night. They were working throughout the night. Cash Patel, Dan Bongino working tirelessly over the course of the last 33 hours to bring this guy into custody. And again in 33 hours. Now 22 year old Tyler Robinson taken into custody as the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. All of the evidence pointing to him. We will bring back that press conference in just a moment. I do want to thank our, our great sponsors who make this broadcast possible. You know those myths that we hear like cold weather gives you a cold. We only use 10% of our brains. Well, here's another one. Thread count. Many believe higher thread count means better sheets, but it's really just a measure of fabric density. And when it comes to sheets, the thread quality matters more than the count. That's where bowl and branch comes in. I've been sleeping a lot better on my new sheets. They use the highest quality organic cotton, making them soft and durable. Plus they get even softer with every wash. It's more than the number of threads. It's about comfort and long lasting quality. So if you're looking for sheets that combine luxury and durability, Boll and branch is the way to go. Your sleep will thank you. Feel the difference an extraordinary night's sleep can make with bowl and Branch. Get 15% off plus free shipping on your first set of sheets@bowlandbranch.com Vince that's Boland Branch. B O L L a n d branch.com Vince to save 15% and unlock free shipping exclusions apply. Visit BollandBranch.com for details. Also want to thank Patriot Mobile for sponsoring this program and supporting conservatives, supporting the very ideas that we are trying to advance every single day, regardless of how the left feels about it. You know, I realize there are a lot of choices out there for cell phone services. Patriot Mobile, they're fighting for us. They fight for the things that we believe in. They believe freedom is worth fighting for and they're leading the way in the technology race as well. Patriot Mobile is one of the only carriers with access to all three major US networks. That means exceptional nationwide coverage along with the ability to have Multiple numbers on different networks, all on a single smartphone. That's what I have, thanks to Patriot Mobile. Total game changer. They have unlimited data plans, mobile hotspots, international roaming, Internet backup, and so much more switching. It's easier than ever. Activate in minutes from the comfort of your home. Keep your number, keep your phone, or even upgrade. It's time to make that switch today. Go to patriotmobile.com vince or call 9-72-PATRIOT. Use that promo code Vince for a free month of service. That's patriot mobile.com vince or call 9-72-PIOT. Let's check, check back in here on this press conference, what they've got going on because we are learning a bunch of new details. This man has been captured, taken into custody. Thank goodness. A little bit more from Governor Spencer Cox here in Utah.
- [23:01]
C
Clarify that the release of those enhanced images at 8pm the timeline that Director Patel gave us led to the arrest at 10pm Is there a direct connection.
- [23:10]
A
Between those two events?
- [23:12]
C
I cannot comment if there is a direct connection or not, but all I can say is that through some process, the family came to know that this had happened. One more thing, Governor. Could you just clarify the clothing issue you mentioned earlier? Was he changing outfits? Correct? Yes. Yes. So when he's first spotted on campus, he has different clothing on and then he changes clothing on the roof and then changed back into that clothing at some point so that when he was apprehended, when he was arrested, the clothing matched the clothing he had on before the shooting here at uvu. Last question here. The suspect was from Utah.
- [23:56]
D
Can you kind of tell us a.
- [23:57]
A
Little bit more about where and was.
- [23:59]
C
He a student here at this university? And is there any history of mental illness? Yeah, so I, I, I, I don't have any information on the mental illness part. He was not a student here at uvu. He was living and, and had lived for a long time with his family in, in Washington County. Thank you everyone for, for your great work and getting this information out. I just say, process wise, this may be important. I know many of you aren't familiar with the process in Utah. I think it's important that you understand that basically we have three days for charging documents to be filed. CI will be filed. We'll have more information then, more detailed information as those charging documents are filed in preparation for a preliminary hearing. So three days. So, you know, we would anticipate then that early next week those charging documents will be filed. We will obviously be working, the county attorney will be working very closely with Mr. Kirk's family as those documents and decisions are prepared and made. Thanks, everyone.
- [25:06]
A
And that looks like that's it. I mean, it looks like people are walking away here. The various authorities, who include Cash Patel, you see him there, the FBI director walking out. And that. That's a big hearing. We were kind of on. On the lookout for the FBI Deputy Director, Dan Bongino, who's obviously very involved in all of this. He went yesterday to visit the crime scene. And as clearly things were winding towards this big event, which is that this shooter, this suspect has been taken into custody. And we do have some of the. The mug shots. Well, a couple things. Tyler Robinson, as I pointed out, confessed. That's a big deal. They have a confession. Additionally, the mug shots here of the assassin have been released. This is Benny Johnson, who's sharing this. You get multiple mug shots of the guy released. They're taken into custody right away, and they've got him. I do want to remind you that there's an element to this which is there were a lot of people sharing artificial intelligence generated images that were allegedly. The claim was that they were cleaning up the shots, that they were like, oh, we've enhanced the shots. The effect of that AI stuff was not to enhance the shots. That's what we call generative AI it just invented faces for the guy. And if you compare now the actual mug shots to some of that AI generated garbage, you'll realize that that's exactly what it was. And I hate that because it misled people into believing that, okay, I got to find somebody who looks exactly like this. And that's not what it was. In fact, here's a guy who literally tweeted out the comparison. I mean, look at this thing. The generative AI does not look like him at all. And that's because people were literally just generating artificial intelligence images. It just doesn't work. It's not going to happen. So just to give people some clarity there and also to try to stop any conspiracy theories from being born out of the generative AI being like, that's a different person. Well, yeah, no kidding. It's a fake person. It doesn't even exist. Okay, we've got a lot of things that have happened in the last 24 hours. Obviously, the President of the United States just revealed all of this this morning on the Fox News Channel. He revealed, yeah, we've got a suspect in custody. And here's the President detailing some of what we just heard. Cut to about a minister and the suspect's father turning him in. Take a listen here's the President.
- [27:35]
B
Essentially, somebody that was very close to him turned him in. And that happens when you had some of those good shots. Somebody is going to say, whether it's a parent or whatever, I'd rather not say right now. They're going to announce it today, sometime later, probably talk about that. But somebody close to him turned and, you know, they said, whoa. It's interesting where we had very good pictures, but not great, not perfect. And when you look at it, what happened is somebody. And this happens a lot. It happened with the crazy Boston bomber, It happened with others. Somebody that's close, recognizes even a little tilt of the head, which nobody else would do. And somebody that was very close to him said, hmm, that's him. And essentially went to the father, went to a U.S. marshal, who was fantastic, by the way, and the person was involved with law enforcement, but was a person of faith, a minister, and brought him to a U.S. marshal, who was fantastic. And the father convinced the son, this is it.
- [28:41]
A
I hope the church of that Minister gets the $100,000 reward from the FBI. Wouldn't it be amazing if the capture of Charlie Crook's assassin led to a church receiving $100,000 as a reward for that capture? I think that would be the. I think the most appropriate course of action. We'll see what happens with that. So that. But there's the President of the United States saying it was a minister of all people, God bless him, being involved in this and figuring out, okay, who are we dealing with here? This is why we've seen so much requests, so many requests to the public in the last few days. You heard from the FBI director, Cash Patel, in that press conference saying that they received tens of thousands of tips from Americans like you, like us, who were just trying to figure out ways to help, who were combing through the digital data, who were there on the scene, who had videos on cell phones, who knew that that man, that guy looks like somebody I know. People sending in thousands upon thousands of tips. In other words, the nation rallied to Charlie Kirk's defense. The very same people who, all across the Internet and all across our country fought so hard to get President Trump into office. Now, on multiple occasions, fought so hard to track down and capture Charlie Kirk's killer. And this morning, we have the good news that in just 33 hours, they now have this man in custody. So for any of you who are out there who played any role whatsoever in helping the FBI bring this to an end, God bless you. Thank you. We can see it's Paying off. And this is the pursuit of justice now for Charlie's family and our country.
- [30:23]
C
The.
- [30:25]
A
The Governor, Spencer Cox, and not. And of course, the President of the United States. This morning, he reiterated this point. They've been saying that what needs to happen here is the death penalty. And I can't agree more. We need the death penalty in this case for. For this man and for what he did. And in Utah, they have on the books firing squads for the death penalty. In Utah, if there's ever time to use firing squads, it would be here. Get a speedy conviction. The guy has already confessed, they say. The confession they say was made to his father. Let's see what authorities can get out of him further, what they've already gotten out of him. But it needs to move quickly. It can't drag on. The President said this morning on Fox that this thing can't go on for three and a half years before the trial even begins. The country needs to see consequences now for this type of disruption to our civic life, for this type of attack on our Constitution, on our Republic, and on the people who express these ideas. And I heard Spencer Cox lay out all of the ways that Charlie Kirk was attacked, not only Charlie Kirk, the man, but the ideas that he was expressing. And let me add one other that I didn't hear him say with clarity, but perhaps he did, but I'll just say it here. This was also an attack on Christianity. Charlie Kirk was a spokesman for the word of God in everything that he did. It fueled his political commentary and he expressed it constantly. Any attack on Charlie and the ideas that Charlie expresses is an attack on his innate Christianity. That is a hate crime insofar as anyone can establish one. There you go. It's an attack on a Christian for being Christian and for expressing that truth out loud. That man hated him for that. That's the message we got today from Spencer Cox as he laid out that he hated Charlie Kirk, that he was expressing it to family members and over discord, his utter loathing, and his desire to kill Charlie. In a moment, I'm going to bring in a Republican congressman. I want to get his reaction to all of this, all of the news we're learning. Congressman Randy Fine will be with us. We are learning a lot this morning again. Rumble.com Vince, if you're watching live, we have a very busy live show. And of course, on the podcast, you'll be able to gather all of this really important information about what we've learned about the man who killed Charlie Kirk in the pursuit of justice here, standby. Congressman Fine will be with us in just a moment. First, you should know more and more Americans are prioritizing their wellness, getting back in shape. Studies prove that strength training alone does so much more to help burn fat than cardio alone. And I've been working with Don and the team over at Jacked Up Fitness for a couple of months now. They're fantastic. Let me tell you, these guys know what they're doing. They're all in one. Home gyms are already best in class. Trust me, I have one. But now their new X series takes home fitness to the next level. The Power Rack Extreme functional trainer lets you do hundreds of exercises, basically everything you would do at the gym, right from your spare room or your garage. Want more? The Power Rack Pro X features a fully upgraded cable crossover system with articulating pulley arms for unlimited. With combos, you're going to hit every muscle group. And if you're new to this, no worries. They've got a free Get Jacked up video program. Just press play and follow along. No more excuses. Let's do it together. Go to getjackedup.com use the promo code Vince, save 10%. That's getjackedup.com.com our thanks to Jacked Up Fitness. And our thanks also to Blackout coffee, which fuels me every single morning. They should fuel you too. They're the official coffee of all of us here at Silverlock. And the reason is because they're bold, unapologetic America first coffee. Roasted fresh right here in the United States, not grocery store junk. Blackout coffee delivers rich, high quality roasts that do taste like freedom. And now you can set it and forget it with auto refill and recurring delivery. No more running out, no more watered down backups. Just your favorite roast delivered fresh on your schedule. Pick your favorite roast, how often you want it delivered. And not only will you get a discount, you also get double the rewards and free shipping to your doorstep. So do what I do. Drink a delicious cup of Coffee. Blackout Coffee dot com. Vince. Use the code Vince. That's V, I, N C E. Get 20% off your first order. Whether you're into bold roasts, flavored coffee, or even instant, blackout's got your back. Real coffee, no compromise. Blackoutcoffee.com Vince get yours now. Joining us right now on the program from Florida, Congressman Randy Fine is here. Congressman, thank you for being with us today, sir.
- [34:51]
E
Happy to be here. Thanks for having me.
- [34:53]
A
Congressman, I just want to get your reaction to the breaking news developments this morning. A 22 year old suspect from Utah being taken into custody. The hunt for Charlie Kirk's killer appears to have concluded in just 33 hours. What are your thoughts, sir?
- [35:07]
E
Well, look, my heart's still broken for what happened to Charlie and his family, but frankly for the entire country. I mean this is a rubicon that has been crossed. A political assassination, not only not of a politician, but just of someone who is speaking out. I'm relieved to hear they have, they believe they've caught the killer. I want to know exactly what his motivations were and no matter what they are, I agree with you. The death by firing squad, and a quick one at that, is needed to send a message that this is unacceptable. And frankly, I hope that when he is executed by firing squad that it is broadcast live for everyone to see. People need to understand there are consequences if you behave this way.
- [35:48]
A
Congressman, we now know the, some, some, some aspect of the motive in. We know that inscribed onto the bullets themselves were all sorts of hateful messages directed at Charlie and a message, messages that said that he was antifa, which is obviously a very radical left wing operation that's been causing a lot of chaos in our country. The President of the United States indicated this morning that it's long past time for a full blown RICO investigation into the radical left and all of this violence. What do you make of that component?
- [36:23]
E
Well, I'm not surprised and I think that we are dealing with a civilizational struggle against an enemy that believes that they are so right that they can advance their cause by any means necessary. They believe in violence, it is core to their views and we have tolerated it in our country for far too long and now we need to bring the full force of the government down to crush it. I'm going to be filing a bill that's going to require protesters to disclose who is funding them. You have the right to peaceably assemble in this country, but we have the right to know who's behind it. Just like the right you have the run for office. But people have the right to know who your contributors are. I did 81 events in my district during the August recess. I had protesters at about 12 and it was clear that they were all paid, every single one of them. Well, who is financing this and why and what is their objective? Because we are seeing people be radicalized and America be ripped apart by I believe, radical left actors and our foreign enemies. And I think you end up with what we saw with Charlie Kirk.
- [37:26]
A
What role do leaders on the left have in the violence that we're Seeing Governor Cox was making, I think, a relevant and good point, which is that words themselves are not violence. But we've seen a lot of leaders, establishment leaders on the left, who very routinely have told the most vicious of lies and inflamed some of the weakest minds on the left into these horrible acts of violence.
- [37:51]
E
Well, that is the problem. You know, when they call people like me Hitler, if you believed someone was Hitler, you probably would be doing the world a favor by shooting them. But that's why you don't call people Hitler who aren't. And so the problem is, is that you've got this radicalization on the left from many of those leaders that send signals to these lunatics that they should take this action. I don't believe that anyone that I served with, even the lunatics on the left, want political violence. But what they don't understand is that when they say these things, they're inspiring their people to behave in it. And I think that is where they bear responsibility. They can't say, don't engage in political violence, but that guy's just like Hitler. And they need to stop it. Because we. We fundamentally disagree about the future of the country. But our views, My views don't come from a place of hate. They come from a place of love, of America. And the problem is the left has just tried to demonize us for years.
- [38:54]
A
You know, even inside the United States Congress, you. Earlier this week, there was an effort, Congressman. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tried to raise a moment of silence and prayer for Charlie Kirk that immediately, immediately led to Democrats on the floor screaming no. In order to upend it. What is it like to work in a building like that where you have people who can't even demonstrate basic human decency in the wake of a tragedy like this?
- [39:16]
E
Well, I mean, just so you know, we actually did have a moment of silence, and everyone did participate in. Lauren's comments came after that was over. But I will tell you, whereas we were in tears on our side of the room, it sort of felt generally like another day at the office for Democrats, and not for all of them, but for many of them. And. And I don't know that they understand the impact of this. You know, when you can't settle your differences with words, you're going to settle them with guns. And this has happened in our history before. The American Revolution is a great example of it, where subjects couldn't agree and we devolve to violence. They don't understand what they're doing.
- [39:59]
A
Right. And that's What Charlie Kirk was trying to stop, he didn't. He didn't want revolution. He wanted the country to come together in dialogue. But just give me some clarity on this. So there was a moment of silence in the House, and everybody was quiet. But then Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, as I understand it, she tried to raise. Are you telling me another moment for prayer? And it was at that moment Democrats were like, no, we've already done enough. We shouldn't engage in another moment.
- [40:23]
E
So the sequence was the speaker from the rostrum asked for a moment of silence. Everyone. You couldn't hear a peep. Everyone participated. As far as I could tell, it's a big room. Everyone stood up, gave a moment of silence. When that was over, from her seat, not near a microphone, Lauren yelled out and basically said, I want us to say a prayer. Like, not just a moment of silence. She wanted a prayer. I don't know if she was going to give the prayer. If all four hundred and thirty five people were going to give a prayer. It wasn't really clear. And then the Democrats reacted badly to that.
- [41:01]
A
That's insane. Why would they do that? I mean, what's the. What's the point? It's like, so somebody raised a prayer, and do they not even realize what that looks like? It looks like you just don't care. Which is, of course, that leaves. That's the impression you leave the rest of us with.
- [41:14]
E
Look, I would say we had just found out literally minutes before that Charlie had died. And, you know, moments, feelings were very, very raw. And you would hope that people would have some grace in that situation. Charlie, I didn't know him, but many of my colleagues did and considered him a friend. And he died in the most horrific way possible. And it would have been nice to see some more grace extended in that moment.
- [41:42]
A
100%. Congressman, what do you anticipate for our country in the wake of all of this?
- [41:46]
E
Well, I'm. I'm very concerned. I am not optimistic. I mean, again, we have had effectively two civil wars in this country where people could not settle their differences with words. The American Revolution was a civil war between British subjects that our side won. And obviously The Civil War 80 years later came from that same inability to resolve our differences. I fear that that is where the left is. I saw some polling results that said a majority of Democrats do not feel badly when people they disagree with are killed. And, and that's very, very troubling. And I think we all need to be afraid for the future of our country, because I Don't know how we climb back from here if the other side is not willing to absolutely and totally repudiate it. Now, some have. I mean, I even watched a video by Bernie Sanders, of all people, who was very clear and forceful and said, this is not okay. But, but I think then I saw a video from Elon Omar where we got a lot of, well, he didn't like Juneteenth sort of implying that, you know, you know, you get what's coming. And so I think we have a problem.
- [42:55]
A
So Democrats, and we've been describing this accurately as an assassination culture that exists on the left. If a majority of your base could excuse, as they said earlier this year in a poll released in April, 55% of their base said that they would excuse the death of Donald Trump in an assassination. 48% said the same about Elon Musk. You clearly have a rampant assassination culture that needs to be stopped. And the reason people arrive at that is because their information sources keep dumping this kind of poison into their minds. And I wonder, Congressman, what can be done about these major media operations who keep telling these lies at the expense of human life in the end? Because look at what happened with Fox News. Fox News was sued over some dispute in the 2020 election. They paid the biggest settlement in media history. Why isn't NBC being sued into the dirt for what they say on their air?
- [43:49]
E
Well, actually, it's more than lies. Sometimes they are telling the truth. So they will say, for example, that people like Randy Fine oppose what I call the butcherization of children. That's the truth. I do oppose that. The problem is they believe that they are so right in their views that violence is legitimate. That is what we are dealing with is a ideology that believes they are so morally superior that advancing their view by any means necessary is acceptable. And so the issue is not telling the truth or the lies. The issue needs to be you can't kill people that you disagree with. Their views are legitimate, too. And by the way, the most you can say is, they may be delusional, but you shouldn't be able to say you should then kill them. And they do believe that many, not all, but many of them believe that advancing their ideology by any means necessary is acceptable. And that's how you end up with people getting killed.
- [44:49]
A
It's also a sign of the weakness of their argument. They don't want to have one because they know they'll lose. Congressman Randy Fine, thank you for joining us today. I know it's busy breaking news day. Appreciate your contribution to it, sir.
- [45:00]
E
Happy to talk.
- [45:01]
A
All right. There he is. Congressman Randy Fine from Florida. Glad to have him stop by today. Reacting to this, Congressman Fine, for those of you maybe joined us a little bit into the interview. He started it by saying that he agrees that there needs to be a firing squad execution for the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He also said that that firing squad should be televised nationally so that the country can see that there are consequences for this type of attack on our republic. We've got a lot, you know, through the weekend, we're gonna learn a lot more about the details here about the man who went after Charlie Kirk. But I wanna end today not on the killer, but instead on the hero of our story, Charlie Kirk, the man who has done so much good for this country and has gone way too soon. Yesterday we had this imagery. Cut three. This is JD Vance escorting Charlie Kirk and his body Back to Arizona. J.D. vance is a United States Marine, now the Vice President of the United States, joining these members of the military, the Air Force, carrying that casket to Air Force Two for a very dignified transfer of remains for a very dignified man, Charlie Kirk. Charlie's body arrived in Phoenix, Arizona yesterday. Play cut four. Here, take a look at this. This is. This is the family arriving.
- [46:44]
B
Clear line 26 Alpha 1555. Welcome home, Charlie. You didn't deserve it.
- [46:49]
A
May God bless your family. Welcome home, Charlie. You didn't deserve it. The air traffic control tower welcoming him back for the last time to Arizona. Here he is being carried off of Air Force Two yesterday. Cut five. The military bringing Charlie's body out of the. Out of the plane and off to the chapel where he would be held for a time. And then yesterday, Charlie's widow erica in Cut 6. Here descended the steps of Air Force Two, gripping the hand of Usha Vance and the Vice President of the United States. With them, the Vance is extending the nation's gratitude to the Kirk family. J.D. vance could have been with the President of the United States yesterday at the 911 memorial and decided that his job was to cover this mission. And for that we are all grateful. Thank you to the Vice President, thank you to the President of the United States, and thank you to the men and women of law enforcement who brought the killer into custody. Now it's time to bring him in to bring him to justice. God bless you, the best audience anywhere. Glad to have you with me as always. We'll be back again on Monday for another edition of Vince.