Well, MAGA has a new thing to fight with each other about. Charlie Kirk’s death has caused varied reactions and opened a CT war within MAGA. It seemed to have died down but today’s news that the alleged shooter’s defense is asking for a delay in proceedings and why is sure to crank up the crazy talk again. It turns out there’s a problem with the forensics, as in an inability of ATF to match the bullet that killed Kirk to the shooter’s rifle!
I first saw this news much earlier today and I’m glad I waited. From the early reports the headlines and stories pretty much said the bullet wasn’t a match to the rifle recovered near the scene. The tone of those headlines and stories indicated the bullet was from a different gun. As in some other gun had to have fired the fatal shot. Uh Oh. I’m glad I waited because later reporting paints a less clear picture of the matter. This article from TheWrap tells us there’s a nuance to the “the rifle and bullet don’t match” talk from earlier in the day:
Defense attorneys for Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson say an ATF ballistics report did not produce a conclusive match for their client’s rifle, according to legal documents obtained by TheWrap. The filing, which requested a six-month delay for a scheduled May hearing, acknowledges that a separate FBI analysis was still pending.
It might seem subtle to the point of picayune but there’s a huge difference, especially in a murder case involving a firearm between “No Match” and “Inconclusive.” On such things is Reasonable Doubt created during a trial and it only takes a single juror to get hung up on this point with the result being a hung jury. A Mistrial and the question prosecutors have to face about whether to try again.
It’s an interesting article and doesn’t take long to read. I do want to point out some things though. First is that this is out there. The ATF couldn’t say in a report that the bullet was a match to the gun they were given. It’s not like the ATF doesn’t (or did before Trump 2.0 went to work on federal agencies) have top rate facilities and experts. Still, the very best is the FBI at Quantico. Or they used to be. Patel has taken a wrecking ball to the agency and who knows if their labs are what they were even a year ago? The point is that the shooter seems to have a good attorney who it’s clear will play this up for all it’s worth at a trial. He’s already making news asking for exculpatory information he says should have already been provided as part of discovery!
Why I’m writing however gets into the Conspiracy Theory stuff that some MAGA influencers started talking up in the aftermath of Kirk’s death. I think it’s a given that whole cottage industry just got a shot of adrenaline. MAGA isn’t exactly in civil war with itself but there’s been multiple serious skirmishes. It doesn’t help that Kirk’s widow Erika seems to create a new reason to criticize her every week. My opinion of her is awfully low but even I don’t think she’d have arranged to have her husband killed and set up a patsy. However you can bet someone, perhaps one of those influencers like Candace Owens or Tucker Carlson will borrow Trump’s “People say” qualifier to toss the allegation out to a wide audience.
Of course there will be other CT stuff that comes up. The possibilities are so many I won’t get into all that here. What matters is that MAGAs are squabbling both with Trump and with each other on multiple issues. News that Charlie Kirk who so many (including my freaking sister) regard as a candidate for sainthood might have been the victim of a conspiracy to silence him. With early headlines saying ‘the bullet didn’t match the shooters rifle’ the seeds of a CT fight have already been planted.
Look, lack of a ballistics match is more common than you think. However Kirk was struck in the neck and the bullet didn’t strike bone so it was in relatively good shape. Still, the nuance between ‘doesn’t match’ and ‘can’t be confirmed’ is exactly that. Nuance. MAGAs aren’t know for being able to process and/or understand nuance. A clever conservative influence might look at the planted seeds of a conspiracy theory and rustle up just the right form of Miracle-Gro to turn it into a flowing garden. All the while the shooter’s attorney will, if he gets his six month continuance be sprinkling his own fertilizer.
Put a pin in this. As I’ve said it could wind up being a BFD in MAGA and Turning Point USA which Kirk founded. It’s already struggling under Erika Kirk and this won’t help. Hey, if they want to weaken themselves with internal fighting let em have at it. You know the old saying about when an opponent is making mistakes to let them. I say it’s best for us to just sit back and say nothing.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
