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CNN host Scott Jennings blew up on his fellow panelists as they questioned the motive of Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin.
On Tuesday, officials released text messages allegedly sent by suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, to his transgender partner hours after the shooting.
‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,’ one read, according to police.
‘I had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,’ said another.
On Tuesday’s CNN NewsNight, guest Montel Williams described Robinson as a ‘love-torn child’ and said the suspect’s grudge was likely to be personal.
‘This is likely his first significant relationship, and someone was speaking ill of the person he cared about. He sat on that building for 30 minutes before taking the shot. Why did he wait until the word “trans” was mentioned? Then he acted,’ Williams explained.
‘I don’t think his actions were driven by political motives. I believe it was an emotional response,’ Williams added, suggesting that the suspect was probably ‘trying to defend his partner rather than any kind of ideology.’
The discussion forced Jennings to bury his face in his hands before launching a strongly worded rebuke.

CNN host Scott Jennings blew up on his fellow panelists Tuesday as they questioned the motive of Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin

The discussion became intense when guest Montel Williams described the accused shooter, Tyler Robinson, 22, as a ‘heartbroken young man’ whose vendetta seemed to be personal.
‘Guys. Guys. The evidence here is overwhelming. [Robinson] said, “Charlie Kirk, I can’t stand this hate any more. I’m going to take him out,’ the conservative Jennings said.
‘The testimony from and the statements of his family, he had become more left wing. He etched the statements that are made by the left about Republicans and conservatives and Charlie Kirk fascists on the bullet casings.’
‘He made a joke about it in his last text,’ Williams interjected.
‘It doesn’t sound like a joke to me,’ Jennings replied. ‘Because someone’s dead and about to be buried – so it doesn’t sound like a joke to me.’
The conservative Jennings then pointed to ‘an effort all weekend long on the left to try to make this guy sound like he was a conservative that failed.’
‘The evidence has now come out. He was motivated by hate. He was motivated by left-wing radicalism,’ he said. ‘He got mixed up with some trans ideology in his life.’
‘We’ll learn more about that, I’m sure when more evidence and testimony comes out, we are looking around the edges of this for something other than what’s staring us in the face,’ Jennings added.
‘Left-wing radicalism got this kid. He went up to a roof and he murdered our friend. And that’s what happened.’
![On Tuesday, officials released texts allegedly sent by suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, to his transgender partner hours after the shooting. 'I had enough of [Kirk's] hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out' read one](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/09/17/13/102216031-15107127-image-a-4_1758113412433.jpg)
On Tuesday, officials released texts allegedly sent by suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, to his transgender partner hours after the shooting. ‘I had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out’ read one

Kirk is seen here speaking at Utah Valley University before he was murdered on Wednesday
In a text to his roommate shortly after the murder, Robinson allegedly said of Kirk: ‘I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.’
In another, Robinson discussed how his father ‘has been pretty die-hard MAGA’ since President Trump had been re-elected.
On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that Robinson comes from a conservative family but that ‘his ideology was very different than his family.’
‘Clearly there was a lot of gaming going on,’ he said. ‘Friends have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture, and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep,’ Cox said.
Robinson also said in the text messages that he had been planning the shooting for a little over a week. He told his partner he ‘had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age.’
The texts also referenced series of phrases found etched into ammunition authorities say was recovered with a rifle thought to be used in the shooting.
Robinson described them as ‘mostly a big meme.’ He is said to not be cooperating with the investigation. His partner is, police said.