The Wire - September 11, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z September 11, 2025//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN REMAINS AT LARGE AS THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES. MULTIPLE HOAX SWATTING INCIDENTS REPORTED AT UNIVERSITIES AROUND THE NATION. CUBAN ILLEGAL ARRESTED AFTER BRUTAL MURDER AT DALLAS HOTEL. SHOOTING REPORTED AT US NAVAL ACADEMY IN ANNAPOLIS.//

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-HomeFront-

Utah: The situation regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk continues to develop, with many new details coming to light overnight. At the moment, multiple individuals seem to be involved in this case in one way or another: One actual shooter, and many more persons that caused confusion during the initial reaction to the shooting. The individual identified as George Zinn was initially arrested after he verbally confessed to the crime, stating that he was the shooter. He screamed "I did it" and "shoot me" immediately as the shot was heard. This could have been a case of mental illness (as Zinn has a criminal history that reflects such and he was known to authorities for this kind of thing) or this could also have been an intentional act of diversion to allow the real shooter time to escape. Whatever the intent was, this did function as a diversionary tactic, and the shooter was able to egress from the area. Nevertheless, local reports state that Zinn was released from custody. Another unidentified individual was initially arrested at the scene as well, in possession of a pellet rifle. No further information regarding this individual's status at this time.

Idaho: A fight broke out at a candlelight vigil at the Idaho Capitol (which was arranged to memorialize Charlie Kirk) when leftist activists began to interrupt proceedings. Several leftist demonstrators were removed after they attempted to gain entry to the crowd and scream obscenities during the vigil.

Colorado: Yesterday afternoon a school shooting was reported at Evergreen High School near Denver. Local authorities state that Desmond Holly, a 16-year-old student at the school, shot two students before taking his own life.

Texas: Yesterday afternoon a woman was beheaded at a motel in Dallas. Local authorities state that Yordanis Cobo-Martinez, an illegal migrant from Cuba, murdered his employer (Chandra Nagamallaiah) with a machete after a brief argument at the Downtown Suites Hotel. Cobo-Martinez was arrested at the scene.

Maryland: This afternoon, an active shooter was reported at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. This is a developing situation at this time, but initial reports indicate that a former Midshipmen returned to the institution to conduct the attack. Early reports indicate as many as 1-3 casualties, however the scene is still locked down at this time. More details to follow as information becomes available.

USA: This afternoon the recent wave of swatting calls flared up again, with several calls being made around Boston this afternoon. An active shooter situation was reported at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), which turned out to be a hoax. Several other locations around Boston were also host to swatting incidents, which also were hoaxes. This morning a bomb threat was called in to the DNC headquarters in Washington, which was also confirmed to be a hoax. Throughout the afternoon the University of Central Florida also reported a similar hoax being called in at their campus.

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Analyst Comments: When it comes to risk assessment and mitigation, making decisions based on details that are speculative is acceptable if time is of the essence, such as when a high-profile assassin is still on the loose. However, it would be wise to focus on the details that help with that assessment, rather than getting dragged down rabbit holes that eat up time that we don't have. Panicking helps no one, and though it is a challenging skill to develop when the general mood is that of extreme anger, remaining calm and collected during a crisis is the option that will help the most people.

The real distinction that must be noted is whether or not the persons that caused diversions, knew of the attack ahead of time. Several people were observed cheering in the crowd, George Zinn shouted and was tackled, and others were behaving suspiciously in and around the venue during the bedlam after the shooting. Right now there is not much linking all of these individuals together definitively, beyond the common goal of disrupting events. For a terror cell to be indicated, the individuals identified would have to know each other and have communicated ahead of time, which is not possible to determine at the moment based on open source information.

The individual spotted on top of the roof before the shooting (the person who appears to have been the actual shooter) might not have been the actual shooter either. The exceptionally graphic video evidence of the attack might be playing tricks on the eyes; the wound that was visible in the video evidence so far may have in actuality been an exit wound for a shot that came from Kirk's 4 o' clock position. Some video evidence supports this, however much higher quality footage (such as from the professional media equipment recording the rally) will be necessary to determine if that is a viable line of investigative effort.

Again, focusing on details that can help find the killer and eliminate future threats is worth the speculation, especially as the FBI has stated that they recovered the rifle used to conduct the attack from a wooded treeline near the campus. This rifle appears to have sported an optic which was mounted too far too the rear to provide a feasible shooting platform. This detail has caused many to doubt that this rifle was the one used in the shooting (as in, it's yet another decoy), or that the shooter did not have the experience to know that the scope was in the wrong position for it to be used properly. In short: If this rifle was used, the suspect is either of a very small body type (much smaller than the suspects sought so far), or they are now sporting a facial wound caused by the recoil of the firearm driving the scope into their face. Or, this rifle was not used at all, and whomever staged it did not have the forethought to position the scope correctly.

As with most high-profile events like this, some discrepancy among the initial details is very much expected. However, there is a LOT of debate right now regarding whether or not the murder of Charlie Kirk was a professional assassination. Right now, all of the evidence in the public eye suggests that Kirk could have been killed in a more coordinated manner (as in more than one person might have been involved), but also by someone displaying very amateur tradecraft. On the other hand, if the multiple misdirections were deliberately planted to confuse and slow down investigative efforts, this would be a strong indicator of more organized planning.

Sometimes the most likely explanation is the simplest, and based on the sheer number of people celebrating his murder the chances of this being one of the usual suspects is rather high, even though the door must remain open to other possibilities. The cold hard truth right now is that regardless of how Kirk was killed, he was killed for a reason. And right now there are millions of people celebrating his murder, both online and in the real world. It is this important observation that will have lasting impact for some time, both in terms of societal shift, but also in terms of real-world threats and security concerns.

Charlie Kirk was a moderate conservative. Despite what the mainstream media says, he was one of the few conservative commentators willing to actually speak face-to-face with his opposition and debate them in open forum. He was not a politician or an elected official who could make policy; the most impact that he could possibly have had was simply to change minds by speaking to people. He could have made a living shouting his ideas from a safe podcast studio, but he chose instead to speak to people in person at these types of public debates over the years. There are a thousand people in the public eye more "radical" than he was, yet he was the one killed for it.

Much like many other political assassinations throughout history, sometimes the more impactful events involve the removal of the last peaceful option, or the last peaceful moderate. Time will tell if this troubling idea is true, but it's possible that with Charlie Kirk died the last hope for reconciliation between a large portion of the United States. The knee-jerk reactions of this horrific murder being that of joy and celebration from a large number of people, is abhorrent to the degree of indicating that there is little chance of cooperation or lasting peace with a good portion of the nation.

Regardless of one's political beliefs, this is a sobering reminder in the context of how millions of people are now openly calling for the violent murder of conservatives, solely for the crime of not being politically liberal. Even in "far-right" circles, which agreed with Kirk on nearly zero issues, the general mood is that of mourning. The *actual* "far-right" in this country has shown more decency for a man who they did not agree with and a man who has admonished them publicly, than most center-left personalities who have bloodlust in their hearts regarding this case.

More broadly, this means that these types of attacks will unfortunately continue. Whether it's organic or not can be argued later, but what's clear is that most big voices on the political left are either openly calling for continued violence, or are behaving without a single shred of human decency. Most Democrat politicians interviewed today by the media on this event have become belligerent on the subject, with some going so far as to interrupt a moment of silence for Kirk at the Capitol. A similar incident was observed today at the European Parliament as well.

There is already enough spin, distraction, commentary, and speculation regarding the exact details of the murder. What would be a more productive line of effort is to be aware of the societal atmospherics surrounding this case (as in the threats that continue to persist), but not dwelling on the evil that is consuming the world. Acknowledge where we are at, conduct risk assessments, and mitigate those risks as best you can. Despair and apathy will solve no problems, and there will be plenty of opportunity to keep focus on moving forward and doing good wherever possible. More details on this case will come in due time, but until then more localized threats and individuals that seek to continue this violence are a bigger priority to be aware of.

Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
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