Surprising absolutely no one with two functioning brain cells, the troubled young man who killed Charlie Kirk on Wednesday in Utah was not transgender.
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s shooting, several mainstream outlets rushed out sensational claims that “transgender symbols” were engraved on bullet casings found near the suspect’s discarded weapon. Within hours, senior law enforcement contradicted the reports and the outlets hedged—but the damage was already done, with the falsehood ricocheting across the internet. This morning, officials announced the arrest of a suspect in Kirk’s killing and revealed at a press conference that the actual engravings had nothing to do with transgender or LGBTQ people at all—they were internet memes unrelated to transgender people.
And:
The bullet that killed Charlie Kirk was engraved with the phrase “notices bulges owo what’s this”—a furry and anime meme that has circulated online for a decade, generally meant as a joke about something unexpected. Three other unfired casings were recovered: “hey fascist! Catch! ↑ → ↓↓↓,” a reference to the Helldivers 2 video game code used to drop the 500kg bomb; “O bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao,” the Italian anti-fascist folk song; and “If you read this you are gay lmao,” a trolling insult common in meme subcultures. In other words: internet detritus. Not a single engraving had anything to do with “transgender symbols,” let alone the trans community.
Press Conference: No “Transgender” Or “LGBTQ” Symbols Found At Kirk’s Shooting – Erin In The Morning
He was turned in by family apparently, after a $100,000 reward was offered for information leading to his apprehension. He confessed to his father that he was the one who murdered Kirk. The father advised him to turn himself in. He then also called a youth pastor / United States Marshal. It’s unclear if the family has claimed the reward for which they now qualify. It is clear, though, that the shooter is a disaffected 22 year old cis male.
Will these revelations have any impact on the alt-right effort to blame transgender people for all the ills of this country? That seems quite unlikely. Even after the press conference, the far right talking heads continued to claim that the event was somehow transgender related, and that the writings were trans leaning. Prominent trans activists have demanded that the Wall Street Journal print a retraction, since they were solely responsible for the initial reports. I’m not holding my breath for that.
The world continues to become more dangerous for me and those I love with every passing day. Keep speaking up for us, especially those of you who are cisgender allies. We are a very small minority, and we are being scapegoated for the ills of the United States. The only minority I see being treated worse is immigrants. And in that vein, I would note that the far right didn’t even try to say this one was perpetrated by an immigrant.
The journey continues.
An Aging Trans Woman 
Yes. Not surprising at all the demographics of the shooter. Also not surprising those who peddled lies or false info aren’t retracting. Like, you, I likely won’t be holding my breath. But I’ll keep supporting you and the trans community.
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Thank you Nat. I know you will.
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