
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has revealed an interconnected web of militant leftist groups. Shooter Tyler Robinson and his transgender partner, Lance Twiggs, are tied to Armed Queers SLC, which deleted its social media accounts immediately after the killing. Federal investigators are also probing Benjamin Song, the ex-Marine accused of leading the July ICE detention center attack, who connected the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club to both Armed Queers SLC and broader Antifa networks. Evidence of joint workshops, cross-state coordination, and BLM collaborations underscores how these radical factions trained, organized, and operated together.
Robinson fatally shot Kirk at Utah Valley University, using antifa symbolism in the attack. He engraved lyrics from “Bella Ciao,” described as “probably the most important rallying song to Antifa militants for decades,” on his rifle cartridges. Twiggs, who was transitioning from male to female, provided Discord messages to law enforcement that revealed Robinson’s planning and motivation.
In one exchange, Robinson wrote: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” justifying the assassination by saying, “I had had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Federal investigators expanded their probe beyond Tyler Robinson and Lance Twiggs to examine Armed Queers Salt Lake City (AQSLC), a group that promoted “queer resistance” events. On September 10, 2025, the day Charlie Kirk was assassinated, AQSLC deleted its Instagram account, erasing firearms training content. One archived clip showed a member declaring: “If we’re terrorists, we’re proud terrorists.”
Investigators also uncovered that AQSLC co-hosted workshops with the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club (EFJBGC), a radical anti-police organization in Texas, with joint events advertised in posts dating back to 2023.
The EFJBGC, based in Dallas–Fort Worth, is part of a wider network of John Brown Gun Clubs advocating armed antifascist resistance. Known for portraying all police as potential mass shooters, the group has staged armed counter-protests at drag shows and engaged in confrontations with conservatives.
Authorities have flagged EFJBGC for militant planning, including mapping entry and exit points and compiling dossiers on opponents. In 2023, members were sued for assault and civil conspiracy after a clash at a Fort Worth drag queen story hour, and the group has also been implicated in a 2021 arson attack on a Texas ICE facility.
AQSLC is led by Ermiya Fanaeian, a transgender liberation and feminist political organizer. In 2022, Fanaeian received Utah Global Diplomacy’s inaugural “7 for 17” award for advancing UN Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality. The nonprofit behind the award lists sponsors that include Utah state agencies, federal partners, and NGOs with federal funding, raising questions about government ties to a group now linked to armed militancy.
John Brown Gun Club chapters provided weapons training for leftist organizations and offered security at BLM protests, trans pride marches, and similar events. One chapter co-organized a BLM rally of about 75 people and hosted firearms training range days. After George Floyd’s death, club president Renee Maxwell declared, “The rest of my comrades are ready to capitalize on this historical moment. These conversations are becoming more mainstream, and our city leadership is already talking about defunding the police.”
Members of various chapters have since provided armed security at BLM and Antifa rallies, with armed marchers seen at demonstrations around the country. Their parent organization, Redneck Revolt, openly aligns with BLM and draws inspiration from historic Black armed self-defense groups such as the Black Panther Party, the Deacons for Defense and Justice, and the Rainbow Coalition.
Benjamin Song, who led the July 4 armed ambush on the DFW ICE detention facility, was a member of the militant Antifa group Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club, notorious for intimidating opponents outside drag shows. He also trained Antifa members in firearms and close-quarters combat at his mother’s Taekwondo studio in Arlington and was reportedly affiliated with the Socialist Rifle Association.
Nearly a dozen suspects arrested in the attack were tied to Antifa-aligned groups, with some directly linked to Song’s training sessions. Among those arrested was a transgender activist accused of a separate shooting and bombing of a Tesla facility, highlighting the broader network of violent far-left militants connected to the case.
Another group tied to this network is “Trantifa,” a portmanteau of “transgender” and “Antifa.” Trantifa represents far-left trans activists who use harassment, intimidation, and violence to advance radical gender ideology. The movement even maintains an official Trantifa International Facebook page and Twitter account, describing itself as “the transgender arm of Antifa.”
The movement is a loose affiliation of trans anarchists and anarcho-communists who frame the U.S. as systemically racist, oppressive toward queer people, and engaged in “trans genocide” through laws restricting child sex changes. Experts note that activists who genuinely believe they face genocide may justify any level of violence.
Members of the John Brown Gun Club have been linked to harassment incidents, including the attack on cyclist Hannah Arensman after she refused to compete against men. Trantifa activists have also circulated videos urging armed self-defense, even calling for the use of guns against anyone who prevents them from entering women’s bathrooms. UN investigator Reem Alsalem has warned of the dangers posed by extreme transgender activism.
The FBI probe has expanded to encompass online communities like Discord and Steam gaming forums, where more than 20 individuals discussed the Kirk assassination plot and are now under investigation or interrogation. Federal investigators are examining how loosely connected far-left networks may have supported or enabled Robinson’s actions.
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