NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Sept. 12)

NTD News

00:00 NTD Evening News--9/12/2025 01:04 Charlie Kirk Shooting Suspect Held in Utah County Jail 04:17 President Trump Remembers Charlie Kirk 08:49 Citizens React to Assassination of Charlie Kirk 11:41 Charlie Kirk Shooting Suspect Identified, in Custody 17:34 Extremists Often Radicalized Through Social Media: Studies 20:45 CCP Bots Pushing Violence After Charlie Kirk Killing 28:00 Pentagon Warns Personnel Who Mock Kirk's Death 29:45 Utah Could Seek Death Penalty for Shooter 39:01 NATO to Tighten Defenses Along Alliance's Eastern Border 40:58 Israel Makes West Bank Settlement Plans Official  -- 🧶More NTD Programs: https://www.ntd.com/programs?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Social  -- 🇺🇸 Stay updated with breaking news, special reports, and LIVE COVERAGE on NTD: https://ept.ms/NTDlive_ -- 🔵Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed with accurate news without spin. 👉https://www.ntd.com/newsletter.htm?utm_source=YouTube. If the link is blocked, type in NTD.com manually to sign up. -- 🔵 Watch more: https://www.ntd.com/ --

Transcript

00:00Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, the suspect in the murder of Charlie

00:07Kirk is now in custody. What we know about the suspect and the latest in the investigation,

00:12Jack Bradley is at Utah Valley University to hear more from witnesses and students.

00:18President Trump remembering Charlie Kirk and the president's message to those who fear for

00:22their safety, Mario Tzu at the White House. Military personnel and Pentagon workers are

00:27warned against making inappropriate comments aimed at the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

00:33Jason Blair brings us more on the announcement. And NATO is launching a new operation near its

00:38border with Russia. Aryan Posdar has the details and the reason behind the move.

00:52This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City.

00:57Here's Tiffany Meyer.

01:01Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. More details are emerging on the shooting of Charlie

01:07Kirk. NTD's Jack Bradley has more for us from the Utah Valley University.

01:13Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We got him.

01:16The man accused of killing conservative influencer Charlie Kirk is behind bars. The suspect,

01:21Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old living 270 miles south of Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed.

01:30He was not a student here. A family member told a family friend who turned him in, and he arrived on

01:34campus on Wednesday in a gray Dodge Challenger around 8.30 a.m. He was dressed in a different set of

01:41clothes, and then Robinson brought up to a family member during dinner, according to authorities,

01:47that before the shooting, he knew Charlie Kirk was coming to the university and expressed his dislike

01:52about him. Investigators found Robinson exchanged messages on Discord with his roommate. They

01:57included messages about the need to find a rifle and those related to where the rifle will be left

02:04later on. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the bullets were inscribed with messages, one reading,

02:09hey, fascists catch another Bella Ciao, a famous anti-fascist song from Italy. It is also much bigger

02:17than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American

02:26experiment. FBI Director Cash Patel is thanking the public for sending in over 11,000 tips, saying

02:32if it were not for their help, it would have been impossible to put the suspect behind bars.

02:37In less than 36 hours, 33 to be precise, thanks to the full weight of the federal government and

02:45leading out with the partners here in the state of Utah and Governor Cox, the suspect was apprehended

02:50in a historic time period. This would not have been possible without you, the media, and you,

02:55the public. Governor Cox said that they will pursue the death penalty, and Robinson has been

03:00charged with aggravated murder and is being held in Utah County Jail. Several students here at the

03:06University laying flowers at a small memorial here on campus, many students were relieved that the

03:11suspect is now in custody. It helps me rest a little easier at night knowing that he's been

03:15caught. Charlie Kirk, I think, to most Americans, or especially his followers, was a symbol of free

03:20speech. I feel shame. I feel embarrassed that it happened in Utah. Very relieving. It was scary.

03:27You know, a few days after they caught one guy. It turned out not being him. Then they got another guy not

03:32being him. We live in a world today where if someone doesn't like what you say, then, like, your life is in

03:40danger. I know. I saw this video of Charlie saying, like, you know, if he passed away, what's something he

03:45could be remembered for, right? And it was his faith. And I think that that was a, he truly did do that.

03:51All he's ever done was speak freely, and we're allowed to do that in America. That's what America is.

03:56Governor Cox added that U.S. adversaries are spreading disinformation about this incident.

04:01We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instill disinformation

04:07and encourage violence. The memorial for Charlie Kirk will be held next week in Phoenix, Arizona.

04:12Reporting from Orem, Utah, Jack Bradley, NTD News.

04:17President Trump calling for unity in an hour-long interview on Fox & Friends this morning.

04:22We now go live to NTD's Washington correspondent, Mari Otsu, who's at the White House.

04:27Good evening, Mari. President Trump broke a lot of news this morning. His interview in New York

04:31ranged from the Fed to crime to his feelings about Vladimir Putin. But of course, the main

04:36subject of conversation was still Charlie Kirk. What did the president say about Charlie?

04:44Good evening to you too, Tiff. Yes, President Trump this morning was actually the first to break

04:49the news announcing the suspect's arrest. And as Jack just said, and we now know, the suspect,

04:5522-year-old Tyler Robinson, is in custody, being held without bail in a Utah jail.

05:01And this arrest is coming just one day after President Trump eulogized Kirk at the Pentagon

05:07memorial ceremony honoring victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. At that ceremony, President Trump

05:14also announced that he will be posthumously awarding Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

05:20And President Trump today is now recounting, for the first time, the moment that he learned that

05:25Kirk had been shot. Take a listen.

05:28He said, Charlie, Kirk is dead. I didn't know what they meant. And I said, dead?

05:36You got... And it was like, I left these... I just told these people, get out, just go.

05:42The president says he heard the news when he was with the architect overseeing White House

05:45renovations and responded in disbelief. A large part of President Trump's remarks this morning,

05:50however, focus not on what's happened since Kirk's assassination, but on the effect Kirk had in

05:55life. President Trump remembers the effect that Kirk had on young people, including even his own son,

06:00Barron. And Barron came to me and he said, dad, I'd like to meet somebody that you know. Who?

06:05Charlie Kirk. I said, what? You know, I thought he was going to say, I want to meet like,

06:09uh, King Charles or something. And I set up a lunch with him and he, he came back. He said,

06:14that guy's great, dad. That guy's great. You know, he's cute. He's unbelievable. I don't know

06:20what, Charlie had a magic over, over the kids. Turning point, the organization founded by Kirk

06:25helped to encourage younger voters to turn out for President Trump during his 2024 campaign.

06:30President Trump has credited Kirk with helping secure his return to the White House this year.

06:34No Republicans ever won. And I won by 37%. And Charlie Kirk will tell you, TikTok helped.

06:43But Charlie Kirk helped also. Oh, he just happens to be here. Look at him. He loves that we mentioned

06:50that name, right, Charlie? And reflects on his passion for speaking to young people.

06:54Charlie would call me up. I'm president of the United States. And I get a call like

06:58a day before. Sir, could you come to Arizona tomorrow? I said, Charlie, I'm president. I can't

07:04just come. He said, it's so important. President Trump also confirms he's had a long conversation

07:12with Kirk's wife, Erica. The president says that while she is, of course, devastated, he also is

07:18encouraging her that something might grow out of this tragedy and that turning point might grow out

07:23of this tragedy. Tiff. And, Mari, this assassination and other recent news like the North Carolina

07:30stabbing have raised concerns about safety, with members of Congress canceling their events.

07:35What's the president's message to Americans who may be feeling scared or defeated right now?

07:44Tiff, last night a reporter actually asked President Trump, as he was on his way

07:49to New York, if he was concerned or scared for his own safety. And this is what he said.

07:55Not really. I'm really concerned for our country.

07:58The president on his way to the New York Yankees game Thursday night, saying that Kirk was...

08:02He was an advocate of nonviolence. That's the way I'd like to see people respond.

08:07At the Yankees game, Kirk's photo was put on the video board and the Yankees held a moment

08:11of silence to honor him before the game. These questions around security are coming as the federal

08:16trial of the man charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump last September

08:21reaches its fifth day. And on Tuesday night, while dining out for the first time in D.C. this term,

08:26protesters got very close to President Trump in the restaurant, raising concerns about his

08:31security. But President Trump is saying... I say you have to go forward. You just have to go forward.

08:37The president urges Americans in this moment to move forward in unity rather than live in fear

08:43of political violence. Tiff, back to you. All right, Mari. Thanks for those updates.

08:49In the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, videos of people mocking his death are sparking outrage

08:55across social media. What does this reflect about the current state of our culture? And is there a

09:00hopeful path forward? NTD Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in D.C. to hear from the people.

09:07What was your initial reaction upon seeing what happened in Utah this week?

09:10Just tremendous sadness. I'm from Arizona and watched him kind of flourish in Arizona as a local

09:20and then going to the national stage. And it's just so sad. I feel sorry for Charlie Kirk and his

09:26family. I really do. I'm not one of those guys who will just assassinate his character. You know,

09:31any man deserves to live. Like he said a lot of times, life is very precious. Right now,

09:36we're seeing a lot of animosity online where people are, you know, lashing out against Charlie even

09:41after he passed away. Right. We're seeing a lot of people celebrating his assassination.

09:46What does this say about the culture that is being fostered online right now under these kinds of

09:51narratives? Well, it's unfortunate. There's been, in a time like this, at a point like this,

09:59there's no room for the vitriol that is being spewed. We're not enemies. We're not supposed to be.

10:09That's not what God directed us to be. But I think a lot of people have turned their back on God.

10:17To wish any human being dead just because of their opinion, you're so off center of being where we need

10:25to be as people. People are in a human form, but we live amongst a lot of demons. So anybody celebrating

10:31death, you know, it tells you what type of person they are. He's somebody's father.

10:38He's the husband. He's a child of his parents, friends. I know that his wife will keep his memory

10:46alive because that's all she has. But that little boy's never going to remember him. And it's just,

10:51it's heartbreaking. At the moment, we're seeing a lot of the people on both the left and the right

10:56coming together, mourning the loss of Charlie Kirk and condemning people who celebrated his death.

11:02Does this give you hope?

11:06It does give me hope because, you know, people do have a heart. Of course, there's going to be people

11:11who are against him. There's going to be people who are with him. But at the end of the day, a human

11:14is a human. A loss of life is a loss of life. I have a lot of hope. I have hope for this nation.

11:20You know, this nation was created under God. And I have hope if we turn to God, we will succeed.

11:28We're standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. You've been in there. You've read the inscriptions

11:32on the walls. When Lincoln was talking about the Civil War, he still had hope because he was

11:38focused and centered on God. And to delve deeper into Charlie Kirk's shooting suspect, we have with

11:44us Jimmy Graham. He's a former CIA protective and retired Navy SEAL. He's also the founder of

11:49Abel Shepard. Jimmy, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you here. Now, it took a little

11:53over 30 hours from the criminal act to having the suspect in police custody. Your thoughts

11:59on the speed of the process?

12:03You know, there's, I think it's still too early. This is going to sound more, but the reason

12:08why I believe that it may be this person, because there's suspect, there's all this conspiracy

12:13theory going on, right? And there's, you know, is it somebody that was placed there because

12:17of what a target that Charlie Kirk is and was? But then there's also this new woke agenda that

12:24people are just unhealthy and mad, but the person's still alive. So typically, if you've seen that

12:29kind of placed fall guy that I'm hearing everybody speculate about, he wouldn't be alive, right?

12:34So there's a lot of facts that need to be, we need to take some time and figure this out and

12:37make sure it's the right person. I do like seeing law enforcement working together and allowed

12:42to do their job and time will still tell. And what does it say to you that the public

12:48was so willing to help in this case? You know, thousands and thousands of tips were sent to the

12:53FBI. Yeah, I think it's, I think it's important to say, I've been saying this all day on interviews,

12:59is how powerful Charlie Kirk was and then why. So when we talk about Charlie Kirk, I can't remember,

13:05and I didn't know what was going to happen, just like when I heard the president had been shot.

13:10This was different. This grabbed me in my soul. And I screamed at the windshield driving on the

13:14street. At the same time, I got news about a shooting in Colorado, where I live, not far from

13:19where we are. So both of those things landed. And I started praying, please, God, not this one,

13:25not Charlie Kirk, right? The level of reach that he broke through boundaries of Hollywood,

13:29of sports, of all of the things where there's barriers, they didn't apply to Charlie Kirk.

13:33And we have to ask ourself why. His, his devout faith and the fact that what he said was right,

13:39and he stood for the truth and the way he did it was, was impeccable.

13:43And in your view, how important was it that the suspect was caught quickly? What message

13:48does that send to those who might try to use violence again?

13:54You know, I think that people, if they used violence, where violence is out of turn,

13:59it's exactly against what Charlie Kirk stood for. So again, examining why was he, did he have an

14:05impact on the world? I couldn't believe that he spoke to my children. My, my oldest daughter,

14:0917, recently started a Turning Point USA chapter here locally. A lot of her girlfriends are in that.

14:15My younger daughter's in that. And she wanted to change the world. And Charlie Kirk was both of

14:19their mentors. My wife found comfort in the words of Charlie Kirk, and I was inspired by his words.

14:24And I don't know another person that grabs the whole entire family like that. Everybody I talked to,

14:29including myself, we feel like we lost a family member and that's super powerful. That's why he

14:34was killed. So I think to catch somebody quickly in today's technology, it must be because everybody's

14:39going to speculate while we're on the hunt. And here comes every, we don't trust the government

14:43anymore. This was my, it was my team in Benghazi, Libya on September 11th. So on September 12th and

14:4911th, I'm asked, do I trust the government? I'm like, not like I used to, not before my time in the

14:52SEAL teams and CIA. And, and I would love to have a government that I trust. We're getting closer to that,

14:57but what is the truth, right? Whose person I did trust? Charlie Kirk. Why? Because he earned it.

15:02He'd been through the fire, come out the other side, and he was willing to stand as a man. And I

15:05appreciate that. Authorities tied Robinson to the crime through a review of online messages,

15:10interviews with his family members and friends and surveillance video. Now the messages included

15:15some sent on the messaging app, Discord. Journalist Andy Neal wrote on X today, quote,

15:19all of these young high profile shooter and mass shooters in the U.S. are actively on discord.

15:25Some as minors were radicalized and groomed on there. How do we prevent this from happening to

15:32more young people? We need to model strength. So this, this, our people, you know, serving their

15:39wants and needs. There's a book called Comfort Crisis. It's fantastic. And it's not, you know,

15:43it outlines what, what will we pay for our comfort? And the answer appears to be everything.

15:48So whether it's maybe an uncomfortable discussion within the home, whether people look at me funny

15:53when I say the truth out loud, men used to, this is the whole reason why Jordan Peterson has a

15:58platform. People pay to watch Jordan Peterson boldly speak the truth. That's awesome because he's

16:03awesome, but it's also ridiculous. We should all be boldly speaking the truth. So when you're not

16:07doing it in your home, you're lying to kids, you remove the truth that built the greatest nation,

16:12which is Christian principles from school, there's consequences and we're seeing these consequences.

16:17So my company, Able Shepherd, we launched this years ago, around 13 years, knowing that there

16:22was going to be consequences in school shootings, in violent encounters. We weren't wrong, right?

16:27So when you plant crazy and crazy comes up, you're going to have to deal with that. And that's what

16:31we're looking at. And it's going to get worse, by the way. And lastly, how do you think young

16:35people especially can best honor Charlie Kirk's legacy? You honor Charlie Kirk by, by one, by not

16:43disgracing him, right? So to go to senseless violence and all those things, it's exactly

16:47opposite of his entire message, right? You honor him by looking at and studying his life. And again,

16:53his life was a testimony to the truth. Make your life a testimony to the truth. I can foresee,

16:59you know, remember Charlie, do it for Charlie. Charlie, be the first person to tell you, do it

17:03for Christ. It's like he was on a path, join the path. He was shepherding and saying, I'm going,

17:08you're invited. And I said, we pick up that torch and go. September 10th now is on my calendar with

17:14September 11th as a turning point. And that, that would honor him to make that a turning point in

17:19my life, in my family and in this nation. Let's do it. I hope a grass fire starts in a good way

17:24for Turning Point USA, and I'll be there cheering it on and funding it.

17:28Well, Jimmy Graham, thank you so much for joining us tonight.

17:32Social media has played a part in many recent high-profile acts of violence and lawmakers are

17:39taking note. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Eduardo Martinez, takes a closer look.

17:44In the past couple of years, there have been a number of high-profile cases of political violence

17:49that have raised concerns among lawmakers, in particular due to a common denominator that is

17:54fueling extremism. David the Pape, the man who attacked Paul Pelosi in October of 2022, had a history

18:01of sharing and consuming extremist conspiracy theories on social media. Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old

18:07who shot President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024, endorsed political violence on the social

18:13media platform Discord. Ryan Ruth, who also tried to kill President Trump in 2024, also endorsed French

18:20groups online. And in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO, the murderer, Luigi Mangione,

18:26became a social media hero.

18:28Quite frankly, this is an ongoing trend that we have where we blow off all the different issues

18:34that are out there, whether it be on social media or conspiracy theories on things and say

18:38that's just something else that has no effect when it does. When people are dehumanized, when

18:43we only see people as what we see on the social media post on it, then we begin to assume that's

18:48all that they are, which is false.

18:49The man behind the arson attack against Governor Josh Shapiro displayed political radicalization

18:54and violent intent on his social media. So did Elias Rodriguez, who shot two Israeli embassy

19:00staffers in D.C. earlier this year. On the other hand, the lack of immediate information on the

19:06shooter who killed the former Speaker of the House of Minnesota and the shooter that killed Charlie

19:10Kirk produced an influx of extremist commentary on social media platforms.

19:14The vitriol, the level that is there now, the hatred that has been fomented, you know, there's

19:21there's a lot of there's a lot of the people I think that that that find pleasure in stoking

19:26that fire and it's dangerous. There are deranged people in society and if they are encouraged

19:32along this way, they will do dangerous things increasingly. So we see that.

19:37According to the profiles of individuals radicalized in the United States,

19:41a data set gathered by the University of Maryland, social media plays a role in about 90 percent of

19:49the radicalization of extremist individuals. This includes what scholars call algorithmic

19:55radicalization, which is when search engines or social media platforms use the small changes

20:01in the online behavior of an individual to direct them to extremist content and networks.

20:06Between April 2021 and January of 25, there were over 50 indictments against individuals

20:11who have worked to provide material support or carry out an attack on behalf of foreign terrorist

20:17organizations like ISIS, Al Qaeda and Hezbollah. Almost all of these individuals have been radicalized

20:23by terrorist media propagations. Currently, the FBI has some 2,700 open investigations into domestic

20:30terrorism. That's some 2,700 open investigations into politically motivated violence. That number

20:36has doubled since spring of 2020. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News.

20:44And joining us now to explore the reactions of U.S. adversaries to the assassination is National Security

20:51Advisor Casey Fleming. He's the chairman and CEO of Black Ops Partners. Casey, thank you so much for

20:56joining us to talk about this tragedy. Many are mourning following the assassination of Charlie

21:02Kirk and the huge champion of free speech that he was. Now, Charlie said in the past, quote,

21:07when people stop talking, that's when you get violence. That is when civil war happens.

21:13Talk to us about the big picture here of what his assassination means in terms of free speech.

21:18It really is a turning point, pun intended. It's a time for all of us to step back and understand

21:27really what's going on. The biggest issue right now is our young kids are being radicalized on social

21:36media. It's through a technique or a warfare method called cognitive warfare. Over 50 percent of Gen Z

21:45gets their news from TikTok and other social platforms, but mainly TikTok. TikTok is a CCP,

21:54Chinese Communist Application. So we're actually under this thing called unrestricted war against

22:02America. It's under no rules and it's to weaken the United States by all means and any means necessary.

22:10Cognitive warfare is one piece of that. So the way to combat it, number one, is to understand that we

22:17are all being played on social media. What I tell people when I speak to large groups, I say when you

22:24pull that cell phone or that that smartphone up to your head or to your face, you need to think of it

22:30as a loaded gun. It has that much power against your brain, against your thoughts. Underneath cognitive

22:38warfare, there's also psychological warfare, narrative warfare. That's really what's going on.

22:44Now, under unrestricted warfare, we're looking at the enemy, which is the Chinese Communist Party,

22:52Russia, Iran, North Korea, who have all aligned together very strongly. They're all in line to

22:59divide Americans. So what you see, what we don't see as adults, because we don't have our nose in the

23:05phone all day. But our young certainly do. They spend an average, high schoolers spend an average

23:10of eight or nine hours a day on their smartphones. College students, about four to five. So they're

23:18being radicalized through algorithms in social media. And what we're seeing, what our team is seeing

23:24today is just an absolute increase in the algorithms, forcing our young folks to this

23:33radicalization and division that's going on. And it's division, not just, it's for all sides of the

23:42United States. You know, we're called e pluribus unum for a reason. And if you split us up, then it's divide

23:49and conquer. And that's exactly what our enemies are trying to do. So that's where we need to focus

23:54on this. How do we fix it? We have to go and it's at the family level. The mother, the father, the

24:01grandmother, the grandfather has to go back to the family, their family. And if they're lacking a

24:07mother or a father, then the grandparents or uncles, aunts need to step in and say, these are our

24:12values. This is not tolerated. This is not who we are. And the United States, if we shoot people

24:20because we just disagree with them, for example, the United Healthcare CEO, because people didn't

24:25agree with him and they made him a hero on social media, that's where our children are, you know,

24:31following the herd mentality. And so that's got to stop at the family. You got to have dinner

24:36conversations, breakfast conversations, outing conversations. This is who we are. This is the

24:41United States. We are all about free speech, getting our messages across, have an open dialogue.

24:47And we just don't shoot people because we disagree with them.

24:51And to your point, Utah's governor, Spencer Cox, was warning about disinformation from Russia and

24:57China. He went on to say, our adversaries want violence. How does disinformation online actually

25:03translate into real world violence?

25:05Well, it's radicalization. You know, one thing is that our children are using these video games.

25:13A lot of them are manufactured in China. China owns many of them and drives also more cognitive

25:22warfare through these video games as well as tracking. But that's one piece of it. So it

25:28desensitizes violence to our children. And then it's just amped up on social media where they use the

25:34algorithms to say, hey, this is a, you know, we hate this. We don't stand for this. These guys are

25:40evil. These folks are no good. These folks need to be taken out. And then they send them to other

25:46messages, other posts. And don't forget, the Chinese Communist Party has many thousands of people. And now

25:55they have bots that mimic or make it exponential, the number of posts that are happening. And then you've

26:02got AI on top of that to feed the bots. So this thing is of massive proportions, hitting our children

26:08and our young adults every day, all day. So that's the strategy behind this unrestricted warfare.

26:16And that is the big picture.

26:19And in terms of combating this, the governor suggested turning off our phones and spending

26:23time with family. What are your thoughts on that?

26:26A hundred percent. Get the kids back outside. Enjoy nature. Get them into sports. Get them into

26:31after school events. Get them on teams. All that stuff. Go back to basics. We got lazy as a culture.

26:38And we've allowed this insidious weapon called a smartphone and the apps that are on it to penetrate

26:45our children's minds. And it's destroying our children. It's destroying their critical thinking

26:51capability. So they just take what they're told online on social media and they cannot think

26:57critically and say, hey, look, I've got these five data points. Something doesn't add up. It's now it's

27:02I've got these five data points. And it all says that this is evil and I don't and, you know, we're

27:08going to create violence or whatever. And then it just basically reduces that line, that demarcation line

27:15that says, hey, I don't like what's happening. And then I'm going to act on it. That line, that line

27:21that they cross for action. So, you know, there's got to be conscience. There's got to be values in

27:28the family. It's get, you know, go back to basic. Get the kids what they did 10, 20 years ago, even

27:34before smartphones. And that's the way to fix this thing. Well, Casey Fleming, as always, thank you so

27:41much for joining us. Thank you. And we'll be right back with more coverage after this short break.

27:49Stay tuned. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. The Department of War warns of zero tolerance for

28:03service members and civilian personnel who celebrate or mock the death of Charlie Kirk.

28:08NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell gives a stiff

28:14warning following Charlie Kirk's assassination in Utah, making it clear that inappropriate comments

28:20among personnel will face consequences. He writes, it is unacceptable for military personnel and

28:26Department of War civilians to celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American. The Department

28:32of War has zero tolerance for it. Parnell's post was shared by the department's main ex-account as well

28:39as Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth added, we are tracking all of these very closely

28:45and will address immediately. Completely unacceptable. And the warning was echoed on various other military

28:51accounts. The U.S. National Guard shared on their main account that they are aware of inappropriate

28:56comments made by some on social media concerning the tragic death of a fellow American from political

29:03violence. Such comments are reprehensible, tasteless, and out of line with our values. Secretary of the

29:09Navy John Fallon writes, I am aware of posts displaying contempt toward a fellow American who was

29:15assassinated. I want to be very clear. Any uniformed or civilian employee of the Department of the Navy

29:21who acts in a manner that brings discredit upon the Department, the Navy, or the Marines will be dealt

29:27with swiftly and decisively. And Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll writes, posts that celebrate or mock

29:34the assassination of a fellow American are inconsistent with Army values, full stop. Reporting from Washington,

29:41D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. And the suspect in the killing of conservative thought leader Charlie

29:48Kirk has been identified as Tyler Robinson. According to officials, he's being held without bail in a Utah jail

29:54on several charges, including aggravated murder. Utah Governor Spencer Cox has made it clear that he

30:00considers the killing of Charlie Kirk a political assassination and says he plans to pursue the death

30:06penalty. Joining us now to discuss the upcoming legal procedure in this case is legal analyst and civil

30:12rights attorney, Bobby Ann Cox. She's also a fellow at the Brownstone Institute. Bobby Ann, thank you so

30:17much for joining us now. Governor Cox announced that Utah is preparing affidavits to pursue the death

30:23penalty in this case. Can you explain what that process looks like legally in Utah?

30:30Yeah, so if he's going to be seeking the death penalty in this situation, the prosecution is going

30:38to have to meet certain levels or certain thresholds for that. And for example, if they're going to have

30:48this as aggravated murder, if that's going to be the main charge under Utah law, from what I understand,

30:54that's going to mean, you know, that the assassin or the, you know, accused assassin potentially killed

31:03somebody with premeditation, meaning he preplanned the situation. So in that case, the prosecution is going

31:10to have to prove that this individual planned this out. It was not something that he just did, you know,

31:16off a whim and that they're going to have to present evidence that shows that this was premeditated by

31:25either finding things, you know, that texts he had written about planning to do it or any sort of notes

31:32around his home, anything that can point to, he planned this out, even things like his, his escape

31:40route. You know, if, if he had scoped out the situation ahead of time and had planned where he

31:48was going to be at the time of the assassination and then how he got away after he did take that shot,

31:54that fatal shot and killed Charlie Kirk, you know, those are all things that are going to play

31:58into evidence going towards a premeditation in this situation. If they can prove that successfully,

32:06then yes, that would be something that under Utah law would qualify as something that would warrant

32:14the death penalty. And the death penalty is, is not very common. About half the states in our nation

32:22have the death penalty. And what's curious about Utah's is that they have the death penalty,

32:28death penalty by injection. Lethal injection is one of the ways. But the other way is in front of a

32:36firing squad. And I believe that Utah's is the only state in the nation that has that firing squad as a

32:43possibility, as a way to, to perform, you know, a death penalty or carry out a death penalty sentence.

32:50So this is very serious. And, you know, the governor Cox has said that this is what they are going to

32:57seek is the death penalty. And digging into that a little bit, how could evidence gathered like

33:03surveillance footage and digital messages play into the outcome of this case?

33:09Yes, I mean, absolutely. This is how they're going to make their case. You know, first of all,

33:14the prosecutors have to prove that they got the right person. So they do have to gather as much

33:20evidence as possible, showing that this specific individual is the person that shot and killed Charlie

33:27Kirk. And as I was saying, when they have to, if they want to seek the death penalty, they will have

33:33to prove as part of proving the murder, they will have to prove that it was premeditated. So, you know,

33:40for example, just to give a differentiation between those two things, if the prosecution can prove

33:46that this individual indeed owned this gun or had or used this gun, this was the person that fired the

33:53shot that killed Charlie Kirk, it came from his gun, his fingerprints are on it, let's say, or some of

34:00his DNA are on that gun, or perhaps on the casing of the bullet that they recovered, that shot and killed

34:09Charlie, you know, that would help prove that this individual was indeed the assassin. However,

34:16if the prosecutors can't prove that he premeditated, that he thought this out, that he planned this in

34:24advance, then with things, evidence such as, you know, either text messages or notes in his, you know,

34:32in his bedroom that he left behind or, you know, conversations that he had with either family

34:39members or friends or, you know, whoever, saying that he was going to do this, or that he wanted

34:45to do this. You know, those are things that could serve as evidence to show premeditation. And in that

34:55instance, if the prosecutors can show premeditation, premeditation, and prove that he was actually the

35:01individual that pulled the trigger and did kill Charlie, then yes, then that would lead to the

35:07death penalty situation, which is what the governor said that he wants to see happen here.

35:14And what kind of timeline are we looking at for this case? How do appeals typically factor in?

35:21Right. So the timeline can wildly vary. It's not something that is a hard, fast, you know,

35:28X number of months or X number of years. You know, the timeline on a death penalty case

35:35could take months, yes, but it could also take years. It's going to depend on, you know,

35:41how much evidence the prosecution can gather and how quickly they can gather that evidence.

35:47It's going to depend on, you know, the courts, you know, what are the courts look like? Are they

35:52backlogged? Do they, do they have an overflow of cases at this point in time? So that also factors

35:59in. And it's going to also factor in on, you know, what, what kinds of appeals, are there going to be

36:07any appeals? Are there going to be negotiations for a plea deal? You know, is, is this suspect going to

36:15try to, you know, cut a deal instead of facing a trial and possible death penalty at the end of that?

36:22Um, you know, these are all factors that will determine exactly how long this trial is going

36:27to take, uh, before it will come to a resolution. And, uh, that that's not something that we can

36:33really project, but we can understand that it's, it's going to be in, in my opinion, it's going to

36:39be months, uh, not weeks. I know people want, uh, to have retribution and resolution and accountability

36:46right away, but this is something that's going to take at least several months. It could take

36:51years, uh, again, depending on those factors. And speaking of factors, do you think the suspect

36:58will undergo psychological evaluations? How do courts determine whether a suspect was legally

37:03sane at the time of the crime? Yeah. So with that, it really is up to, uh, the, the person that's being

37:12charged with the crime. So in this case, you know, the, the accused assassin, is he going to try and

37:18plead that he was insane? I don't know. We don't know that yet. Um, but if he does, then yes,

37:25he would have to undergo, uh, court appointed psychological evaluations, um, to determine whether

37:32or not he, he actually is mentally unstable. Um, but if he doesn't bring that up, if he doesn't use

37:40that, uh, as, as part of a, uh, a defense, uh, then, you know, that's, that's not going to be

37:46something that comes, uh, and, and is an issue at hand. So it really is going to depend on, you know,

37:53what is he going to plead? We have to first see that really the steps are, we have to first see what

37:58the prosecutors are going to charge him with. Um, and then once we see what they're going to charge him

38:03with, then we're going to see, well, how does he respond to those charges? Uh, he, he might, you

38:09know, have defenses for every one of the charges. He might admit guilt to one of the charges or a

38:16couple of the charges, you know, you never know until you see what are the charges in the first

38:20place. Um, and then we have to see, we have to go from there. We have to see, does he bring up

38:25any sort of mental capacity as one of the defenses to any of the charges that are brought before him?

38:32So that is a question that we're going to have to look and see as it's coming up,

38:36whether or not he even brings it up. A lot of factors for sure. Bobbi Ann Cox,

38:41thank you so much for joining us. Yes. Thanks for having me.

38:46And we'll be right back with more coverage after this short break. Stay tuned.

38:50Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. NATO is launching a new operation to strengthen defenses along the

39:05alliance's eastern flank. The flank borders, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. The move comes

39:10after Russian drones entered Polish airspace earlier this week. NTD's international correspondent,

39:15Aryan Posdar, has the latest. NATO is launching eastern century to bolster our posture even further

39:23along our eastern flank. NATO chief Mark Rode says the alliance will beef up its military defenses in

39:30eastern Europe. The move comes after Russian drones entered Polish airspace on Wednesday. Poland shot the

39:36drones down. It appears to be the first time a NATO member has fired shots amid the war in Ukraine.

39:41Existing air and ground-based defenses will be enhanced, and new defense equipment will be

39:47supplied by France, Denmark, Germany, and the UK. Meanwhile, President Trump says he's losing

39:53patience with Russia after the drone incursion. Here he is on Fox News. Yeah, it's sort of running out

39:59and running out fast, but it does take two to tango. It's amazing. When Putin wants to do it,

40:06Zelensky didn't. When Zelensky wanted to do it, Putin didn't.

40:10Russia has largely ignored Trump's calls to end the war. Trump wants Putin to enter serious peace

40:16negotiations. For its part, Moscow says the drone incursion was not intentional. Moscow ally Belarus

40:24says the drones went astray because they were jammed. But European leaders say they're certain

40:29the incursions were deliberate provocation. The Kremlin now says talks between Kiev and Moscow are

40:35deadlucked. The Russian side remains ready to follow the path of peaceful dialogue. We're looking

40:43for ways to settle this, but the Europeans are hindering. That's the reality. It's no secret to

40:49anyone. Peskov says the usual communication channels remain open. Arien Pastor, NTD News.

40:57In the Middle East, Israel approved plans for a new settlement in the West Bank. Israeli officials

41:03say that puts an end to the idea of a Palestinian state. However, the UN still went ahead with a vote

41:09today to recognize Palestine as a state. NTD's Jason Perry has the update.

41:15Israeli officials signed an agreement on Thursday to make Israel's new settlement plans in the West Bank

41:21official. Thousands of homes are expected to be built in an area that would nearly divide the West Bank

41:28into two parts. Tens of thousands of Israelis are expected to move to the area east of Jerusalem over the

41:35next five years. Israel announced the new settlement plans just one day before multiple Western countries

41:42recognized Palestine as a state at the United Nations General Assembly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

41:48Netanyahu shared his thoughts. We said there would not be a Palestinian state and we say again there

41:54won't be a Palestinian state. This place is ours. On Friday, the UN General Assembly voted in favor

42:01of recognizing Palestine as a state. The French ambassador to the UN who voted in favor of the

42:07declaration said this. This roadmap involves an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all of the

42:14hostages. It involves the establishment of a Palestinian state that is viable and sovereign. It involves the

42:20disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza. However, Israel's ambassador to the UN said

42:27this. This declaration is one sided. It does not designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and it dares to equate

42:38the release of Israeli hostages with the release of convicted terrorists. Shame on you.

42:46142 countries voted in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state while the United States and nine other

42:53countries voted against it and 12 did not vote. Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces said they have

43:01struck over 500 terrorist targets in Gaza City. Israel also ordered evacuations of Gaza City, but some

43:08residents still have not left. Others were seen evacuating to the southern Gaza Strip on Friday.

43:14And then another development, an Israeli-Russian student reunited with her family after being held

43:20hostage in Iraq. According to officials, she was kidnapped by Kataib Hezbollah terrorist during a research

43:28trip to Iraq in March 2023. Her release comes days after President Trump signed an executive order

43:35paving the way for the U.S. to designate countries around the world as state sponsors of wrongful

43:41detention. The Biden administration told her family that there was little they could do because she is

43:46not an American citizen. Jason Perry, NTD News.

43:50And that's all for today's news. Around the clock coverage, visit us at NTD.com slash live or download

43:57our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.

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