Photo shows army cadet training, not Charlie Kirk shooting suspect in keffiyeh
- Published on September 16, 2025 at 23:26
- 4 min read
- By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA
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"BREAKING: A photo that is allegedly of Charlie Kirk's assassin wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh has surfaced," internet personality Eyal Yakoby said in a September 15, 2025 post on X.
The post, which has since been deleted, showed Robinson's mug shot below an image of a man wearing a neck covering, hat and camouflage backpack.
Similar posts have spread across X and other platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. Some users further claimed the image came from a university ROTC page.
The posts circulated after authorities arrested Robinson September 11, ending a 33-hour manhunt for the suspect accused of shooting Kirk, a polarizing figure with a massive following closely aligned with President Donald Trump, during an event at Utah Valley University.
Prosecutors formally charged Robinson with murder September 16.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, has said Robinson was romantically involved with a transgender roommate and had "leftist ideology." Charging documents affirmed the nature of the relationship and included texts Robinson sent to the roommate after the incident saying of Kirk: "I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out."
Inscriptions on bullet casings found at the crime scene also appeared to reference online gaming culture and a World War II-era Italian anti-fascist song, according to Cox. One cartridge had "Hey, fascist! Catch!" written on it.
The suspect was registered as unaffiliated and did not cast a ballot in 2024, according to Utah voter records.
Neighbors and others who knew Robinson told AFP he was the smart, eldest child of three boys who were raised Mormon by Republican parents. He briefly studied at a Utah State University for a semester in 2021 before enrolling in an electrical apprentice program at a Dixie Technical College, according to statements from both institutions and the Utah Board of Higher Education (archived here, here and here).
The online claims that an unearthed photo shows him wearing a keffiyeh -- a traditional Arab headdress that has become a symbol for Palestinians -- are false.
AFP traced the photo to the Utah Valley University Army ROTC's X and Facebook accounts, which posted it alongside other pictures in early September 2019 (archived here and here). The posts' caption says the images show members of the university's ROTC program participating in a ruck and run event.
Other photos in the post on Facebook show the same individual from other angles, making clear he is a different person from Robinson.
Based on his birthdate, provided in arrest documents, Robinson would have been 16 at the time. According to reports, he graduated from Pine View High School in St. George, Utah in 2021.
Amanda DeRito, associate vice president for strategic communications at Utah State University, confirmed to AFP in a September 16 email that Robinson spent one semester at Utah State University and did not attend Utah Valley University (archived here).
Ian Ives, media relations chief for the US Army Cadet Command, further added that Robinson never enrolled in any ROTC program.
"After checking our records, we could not find any affiliation between the Charlie Kirk shooting subject and Army ROTC," Ives said in a September 16 email.
AFP has debunked other misinformation about Kirk's shooting here, here, here, here and here.
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