True Crime Rocket Science Examines Tyler Robinson Case and Online Radicalization of Young Men

[00:00] A family member of Tyler Robinson

[00:02] reached out to a family friend who

[00:04] contacted the Washington County

[00:06] Sheriff's Office with information that

[00:08] Robinson had confessed to them or

[00:10] implied that he had committed the

[00:12] incident. Investigators reviewed

[00:14] additional foot video footage from UVU

[00:17] surveillance and identified Robinson

[00:19] arriving on UVU campus in a grade Dodge

[00:22] Challenger at approximately 8:29 a.m. on

[00:26] September 10th.

[00:29] in which he is observed on video in a

[00:32] plain maroon t-shirt, light colored

[00:34] shorts, a black hat with a white logo,

[00:37] and light colored shoes. When

[00:39] encountered in person by investigators

[00:41] in Washington County on September 12th

[00:43] in the early morning hours, Robinson was

[00:45] observed in consistent clothing with

[00:48] those surveillance images.

[00:50] >> Wow, that's incredible. So, when the

[00:51] cops apprehended Robinson in the early

[00:54] hours of September 12th, the alleged

[00:56] assassin was actually still wearing the

[00:59] clothes he was seen wearing in that CCTV

[01:03] footage.

[01:06] I got nightmares in my head. I feel

[01:14] my minds

[01:17] and it haunts me so much deeper. I got

[01:21] nightmares in my head.

[01:26] >> Hello and welcome to True Crime Rocket

[01:28] Science. When Governor Cox refers to

[01:30] those surveillance images, I think he's

[01:33] referring to the maroon shirt and

[01:35] shorts, not the black shirt and jeans

[01:38] that ABC News places on screen when Cox

[01:42] is talking. This is another good example

[01:44] of how false inferences are made, often

[01:47] by mistake. It's like Paty Ramsay all

[01:50] over again. She was also seen the next

[01:52] morning by police wearing the same

[01:54] clothes she'd worn the night before at

[01:56] the White's Christmas party. It's one of

[01:58] those quirks of the trade, things that

[02:00] happen in a case that just don't seem to

[02:03] make sense. We wouldn't do it, but it's

[02:05] not really about us. It's about whether

[02:07] this person did it. Of course, someone

[02:09] assassinating someone else doesn't make

[02:11] sense either. The real question in true

[02:13] crime is never how or why it doesn't

[02:16] make sense to you or me, but how or why

[02:19] it does make sense to them. When we do

[02:23] this, we aren't trying to justify,

[02:24] rationalize, or sympathize with a

[02:26] killer's motive. We're simply trying to

[02:28] understand the process, the mechanism,

[02:31] the criminal psychology. That's

[02:33] certainly an area I'm very interested

[02:35] in. So, what is the mechanism in this

[02:38] case? Where did the criminal psychology

[02:41] come from? What swed the seed? Where and

[02:45] how?

[02:46] >> Investigators interviewed a family

[02:48] member of Robinson who stated that

[02:49] Robinson had become more political in

[02:52] recent years. idea

[03:00] small.

[03:09] In this analysis, I want to talk about

[03:11] the idea, the mechanism really of online

[03:14] radicalization.

[03:15] By the way, if you think it only applies

[03:17] to this person in this case, it's

[03:20] actually happening in a in a sense to

[03:22] all of us. And so it's really important

[03:24] that we do understand it and take stock

[03:27] of what is happening. I also want to

[03:29] address a few ideas surrounding the

[03:31] footage that I've heard that has led to

[03:34] so many being suspicious of it, such as

[03:36] why there's no footage of the sniper

[03:39] taking a shot. Personally, I find this

[03:42] case really interesting, quite troubling

[03:44] really because it reflects, I think, on

[03:47] how to what extent we are anchored in

[03:50] reality or to what extent we are

[03:53] anchored in fictions and things that

[03:55] aren't real, in ideas that are derived

[03:59] from reality but not reality itself. But

[04:02] before we get to that, if you haven't

[04:03] subscribed to the channel, please do.

[04:05] Just a quick shout out to David who

[04:08] says, "Very well done video. I I like

[04:10] your intro and outro music. Often in the

[04:12] outro, I play boots on the ground

[04:15] footage, including where I was in Utah,

[04:17] so look out for that. He says, "I like

[04:19] your style. You seem to be talking about

[04:21] things I have not heard from in the

[04:24] general zeitgeist, which is refreshing."

[04:26] So, thanks very much for that, David.

[04:28] Thanks also to Charles Bllythefield who

[04:32] said, "If you're a new subscriber to

[04:33] TCRS, as a longtime sub, I can tell you

[04:36] that you'll learn a lot about crime and

[04:38] human nature and that you might be

[04:40] challenged on occasion. Nick respects

[04:42] your intelligence, but he doesn't mince

[04:44] words. He tells it like it is. I watch

[04:47] most of what he makes because this

[04:48] channel truly has improved my critical

[04:51] thinking skills. And because Nick works

[04:53] very hard to make these videos, for

[04:55] example, he goes the extra mile, puts

[04:57] boots on the ground to visit the

[04:59] locations of crimes. I could say much

[05:01] more, but we'll leave it at that. If you

[05:03] are new, watch his videos to the end. By

[05:05] the way, the outro music is cool and

[05:08] reflective and perfect for the subject.

[05:10] Well, thanks very much, Charles, for

[05:12] that. If you're finding this analysis

[05:13] worthwhile, please do hit the thanks

[05:15] button and let's get started.

[05:30] That's from the movie Inception, a very

[05:32] powerful film about reality and being in

[05:34] a dream world. And the truth that she

[05:37] had chosen to forget was that her world

[05:38] was a dream and death was the only way

[05:41] to escape it. to think about those words

[05:44] in the context of this case that the

[05:46] only way to escape the issues that Tyler

[05:49] Robinson felt that he was facing was

[05:51] through death in this case someone

[05:53] else's death that's the dream

[05:54] essentially the nightmare that that's

[05:56] the idea that took seed in his mind in

[05:59] his heart in his psychology

[06:03] [Music]

[06:07] it's one thing to know this

[06:08] intellectually but how does the process

[06:11] actually work. How does this actually

[06:13] happen practically? Well, let's try to

[06:15] connect the dots. Toxic politics

[06:17] includes character assassination. That's

[06:20] where it starts. Allowed to metastasize,

[06:23] which is what is happening in the s of

[06:26] social media and it morphs into what we

[06:28] have now. Actual assassinations starts

[06:31] with character assassination, ends with

[06:34] actual assassinations. According to CNN,

[06:37] the nearly undetectable threat of

[06:39] snipers has security professionals

[06:41] sounding the alarm as age-old tactics of

[06:44] assassination become the tool of choice

[06:47] for modern killers often fueled by

[06:49] ubiquitous streams of online hate. I do

[06:52] think that, you know, you talk about

[06:54] age-old tactics of assassination. This

[06:56] is what was done in ancient history.

[06:58] Think about Caesar. Caesar was stabbed

[07:00] by Brutus etu brute 2,000 years ago. And

[07:05] it does feel like we are regressing in

[07:07] terms of our civilization. Why? Well,

[07:10] because the algorithm really um grabs us

[07:16] at the roots of ourselves, our

[07:18] tribalism. And that tribalism is what

[07:20] ruled civilization a long time ago. In a

[07:23] way, prevented civilization from from

[07:26] manifesting.

[07:28] According to CNN, snipers have been a

[07:30] potential threat for centuries. That's

[07:31] absolutely true. But security experts

[07:34] say that the current toxic United States

[07:36] political climate, coupled with a threat

[07:38] of rapid online radicalization and easy

[07:42] access to guns, requires an especially

[07:44] urgent adjustment to an emerging form of

[07:47] deadly violence. Now, I have actually

[07:50] visited Rome and Greece as well, and

[07:52] there's a lot of assassinations in Greek

[07:55] history and Roman history. You can

[07:57] imagine how that basically prevents

[08:01] civilization from getting its start and

[08:04] also a civilization that's already

[08:06] gotten its start. What that does, it

[08:09] just is so self-limiting.

[08:10] >> I choose the Matrix.

[08:12] >> The Matrix isn't real.

[08:14] >> I disagree, Trinity. I think the Matrix

[08:18] can be more real than this world.

[08:21] And often whether by hook or by crook,

[08:24] consciously or unconsciously, we try to

[08:27] escape reality, the predicament we find

[08:30] ourselves in by cheating, by going out

[08:32] of it, by going into fantasy, by going

[08:35] into ideas, unrealistic ideas, untrue

[08:39] ideas. As you see in the movie

[08:41] Inception, ideas about reality can be

[08:44] more real than reality itself. A dream

[08:47] world can often feel more real than the

[08:50] real world. And I have to say I'm seeing

[08:52] that more and more as I cover one

[08:54] high-profile case after another. In this

[08:56] case, a popular idea is that the CCTV

[08:59] footage of the alleged shooter is

[09:01] docked. They don't understand how a

[09:03] static CCTV camera can zoom in while

[09:06] watching a passive recording on screen.

[09:08] But this happens to be a feature in most

[09:11] security camera systems. Zoom, I mean,

[09:13] just like it is on your phone. And you

[09:15] know when you take a photo, you want to

[09:17] zoom in on a photo. Well, you do that

[09:19] after you've taken it. It's not zooming

[09:21] in while it's recording. In a recent

[09:24] episode of News Nation, a YouTuber

[09:26] describes how he is zooming in on the

[09:28] original footage.

[09:29] >> The camera is coming from the chef store

[09:32] and I'm the one that's zooming it

[09:34] around. Um, just making a little bit

[09:36] clear

[09:36] >> and that's why you zoom in to make it

[09:38] clearer. Sorry, I thought that sort of

[09:40] thing is obvious, but I guess it's not

[09:42] obvious to everyone. Here's the original

[09:44] wide-angle frame, which is common in

[09:46] these sorts of cameras. You can see the

[09:49] original angle includes the entire view

[09:51] area from the sniper's position on the

[09:53] far left to the point where he dropped

[09:55] down on the grass and left a shoe

[09:58] impression to the area on the far right

[10:00] where he's walking along the road. How

[10:02] and why this is zoomed in is that you

[10:05] simply have another camera zooming in on

[10:07] the original footage which is on screen.

[10:10] Um, why it's zoomed in is because you

[10:12] can barely see the figure moving in the

[10:14] original widescreen format. Another way

[10:16] to zoom in is actually using the tools

[10:19] of the actual security system. So, why

[10:23] is there no footage of the sniper taking

[10:25] a shot? Anyone know? Anyone thought

[10:28] critically about that? Well, I'll circle

[10:30] back to this, but I'd be interested to

[10:32] see if you can draw the correct

[10:34] inference from what we know or if your

[10:37] default is to it's a conspiracy and

[10:40] footage is docked, which is like quickly

[10:43] choosing the dream world, quickly

[10:45] choosing an idea simply because you

[10:48] can't explain reality. Now, I want to

[10:51] deal with online radicalization and I

[10:53] have to say I learned something here.

[10:56] According to the conversation, the

[10:58] global video game market is enormous

[11:00] with an estimated value of almost $300

[11:03] billion in 2024. Of the more than three

[11:07] billion gamers, that's almost a third

[11:10] more than a third of the population of

[11:12] this planet, the largest percentage is

[11:15] made up of young adults aged 18 to 34.

[11:18] Many of these are vulnerable young men.

[11:21] 18 to 22 year old men are vulnerable

[11:23] because why? Well, they are still

[11:25] finding out who they are. They're still

[11:27] becoming who they are. They're still

[11:29] testing out beliefs and ideas about who

[11:32] they are and how the world works. And

[11:34] often in this is a period when men can

[11:37] either gain or feel that they are losing

[11:39] agency. Think about Charlie Kirk gaining

[11:42] agency. Think about Charlie Kirk gaining

[11:45] agency and and giving some of that to

[11:47] the president, allowing him to gain

[11:49] agency, you know, and win the election.

[11:52] huge realworld crowds attending Kirk's

[11:55] campaigns. These were only eclipsed by

[11:58] crowds online numbering in the millions.

[12:01] And think about a male who loses his

[12:03] scholarship falls out of favor with his

[12:05] family. Meanwhile, an idea starts

[12:07] brewing in his mind. An idea born in the

[12:10] the the arena of sniper themed video

[12:14] games. And what is the what is behind

[12:17] all of this? It's a young male who is

[12:19] losing his agency and he's trying to get

[12:21] it back. Now, according to the

[12:23] conversation, the extremist activists

[12:25] have long recognized this group as a

[12:27] demographic ripe for radicalization. I

[12:30] covered that with the Boston Bombers in

[12:32] a book that I wrote called Slaughter.

[12:34] These groups have produced

[12:36] ethnationalist themed games in which

[12:38] players defend the white race against

[12:40] Islamist, immigrants, LGBTQ,

[12:44] uh, Jews, and more. But the interesting

[12:46] insight here isn't that the game itself

[12:49] is the inspiration. According to the

[12:51] conversation, for many, the Kirk

[12:53] shooting has resurfaced the perennial

[12:55] question about the link or lack thereof

[12:58] between playing violent video games and

[13:00] realworld violence. Now, remember what I

[13:02] said about character assassination,

[13:04] which is an idea of how to deal with

[13:06] your opponent and real assassination.

[13:09] Thought begets action. Be careful what

[13:12] you think because those thoughts on

[13:14] repeat manifest in reality. Be careful

[13:16] also what you say and take note

[13:19] especially of what you say every day.

[13:21] >> The family member referenced a recent

[13:23] incident in which Robinson came to

[13:25] dinner prior to September 10th. And in

[13:28] the conversation with another family

[13:30] member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk

[13:33] was coming to UVU.

[13:35] >> Well, what more than that?

[13:36] >> They talked about why they didn't like

[13:38] him and the viewpoints that he had. The

[13:40] family member also stated Kirk was full

[13:42] of hate and spreading hate. And

[13:45] remember, Tyler Robinson also referenced

[13:48] hate in his text exchange. And now

[13:51] here's the insight. Here's the number

[13:53] three clue we all missed. According to

[13:55] the conversation, while this is an

[13:58] important line of inquiry, this whole

[13:59] study of violent computer games, the

[14:02] evidence suggests most radicalization

[14:04] takes place not through playing video

[14:06] games themselves, but through gaming

[14:09] platform communication channels. Let's

[14:12] put those words on screen. gaming

[14:15] platform, communication channels. So,

[14:18] it's not the game itself, but it's the

[14:20] game platform

[14:22] and in theory also just communication

[14:25] channels associated with gaming

[14:27] channels. In other words, it's the

[14:29] chatter around these games.

[14:32] >> What a mind you have.

[14:35] >> What happens when you get caught up in

[14:37] these games and in these scenarios, you

[14:40] know, that are being that are on repeat?

[14:42] What happens?

[14:55] All of this gaming is an effort to

[14:57] escape a certain kind of reality. And

[14:59] that that reality might be I don't have

[15:01] much agency in the real world. I don't

[15:03] know how to handle the real world. The

[15:05] real world hasn't been very nice to me.

[15:07] The real world isn't very nice to me.

[15:09] According to the conversation, in 2020,

[15:12] my colleagues and I studied an

[15:14] extraordinary data dump of more than 9

[15:16] million posts from the gaming platform

[15:19] Steam, which I've actually used to

[15:21] understand this process. We found

[15:23] evidence of radicalization occurring

[15:25] through communication channels such as

[15:28] team voice channels. Here, players

[15:30] establish connections with one another

[15:32] and can leverage these connections for

[15:34] political recruitment. The

[15:36] radicalization of vulnerable users is

[15:38] not instantaneous. Once extremists have

[15:40] connected with potential targets, they

[15:42] invite them into other platforms such as

[15:45] Discord or private chat rooms. These

[15:47] spaces allow for meme and image sharing

[15:50] as well as ongoing voice and video

[15:52] conversations. Skillful recruiters will

[15:54] play to a target specific grievances.

[15:56] These may be personal, psychosexual such

[15:59] as being unable to gain love or approval

[16:02] or else otherwise related to divisive

[16:04] issues such as employment, housing or

[16:07] gender roles. Now, I must say I see the

[16:09] same thing happening on YouTube. The

[16:11] other recruiters are content creators

[16:13] often who aren't trying to tell the

[16:15] truth. They're trying to sucker you into

[16:17] watching their video by both figuring

[16:18] out who you are, what you want to hear,

[16:21] and then just coming up with an angle

[16:23] that meets those expectations. According

[16:26] to the conversation, the recruit is

[16:28] initiated into a fastchanging set of

[16:30] cynical in jokes and in-group terms.

[16:33] These may include mocking self-d

[16:35] designation such as the peppy the frog

[16:37] meme used by the farright to ironically

[16:40] embrace their ugly political

[16:42] incorrectness. They also use derogatory

[16:44] terms for enemies such as woke social

[16:47] justice warriors, soy boys, fascists,

[16:49] and cultural Marxists. In the same way,

[16:52] you can have online radicalization just

[16:54] online on any platform. According to the

[16:57] conversation, gradually the new recruit

[16:59] becomes accustomed to the casual

[17:01] denigration and dehumanization of the

[17:04] enemies. Social isolation and mental

[17:06] illness are some of the factors online

[17:08] extremists use to exploit when luring

[17:12] vulnerable individuals. Of course, what

[17:14] we're dealing with here isn't somebody

[17:15] else recruiting and someone else

[17:18] radicalizing. It's someone who's

[17:20] radicalizing themselves. There's

[17:22] something in a in an environment where

[17:25] there's a lot of this dehumanization

[17:27] taking place, denigration taking place.

[17:30] And of course, it's in an atmosphere of

[17:33] denigration. The other side is also

[17:35] denigrating. The other side is also

[17:37] dehumanizing. I mean, from the

[17:39] perpetrator's perspective. According to

[17:42] the conversation, ultimately in an

[17:44] increasingly online world, the best way

[17:46] to keep young people safe from online

[17:48] radicalization is what? Well, to keep

[17:52] having constructive offline

[17:54] conversations for people to meet in the

[17:57] real world, have coffee face to face,

[17:59] and do things away from the keyboard.

[18:01] What else can you do offline that's

[18:03] enjoyable? Well, walk your dog,

[18:05] exercise, travel, cook, well, whatever

[18:08] blows your hair back. Meanwhile, what is

[18:10] missing in this analysis? It's a good

[18:12] analysis, but there's a vital thing

[18:14] missing from it. What's missing in this

[18:16] analysis of young men being changed,

[18:18] influenced, radicalized online? What is

[18:21] a key ingredient in male online

[18:23] consumption that's less key, for

[18:25] example, with female audiences? And

[18:28] we'll deal with that in the next

[18:30] episode. Now, I did say I would circle

[18:31] back to this question of why there's no

[18:34] footage of the sniper taking a shot.

[18:36] Well, it's because the weapon is on the

[18:38] far side. It's on the opposite side.

[18:41] It's directed away from the camera. So,

[18:44] if you did see the sniper there, you

[18:46] might be able to see the soles of his

[18:48] shoes or a slight movement, but from

[18:50] this angle, you won't see the shot being

[18:52] fired. Does that make sense? I've posted

[18:54] a little bit of a extended postcript on

[18:56] this whole issue of the video footage.

[18:59] I'll put a link to the Patreon post in

[19:01] the description, so check it out. Also

[19:03] want to invite you to join the most

[19:05] authentic community in true crime on

[19:08] Patreon. There are over 6,000 posts over

[19:11] 1,300 members as well. So if you want

[19:14] more personal interaction with me, head

[19:16] to patreon.com/tcrs.

[19:19] Thank you for listening and I'll see you

[19:20] guys next time.

[19:25] [Music]

[19:29] Heat. Heat.

[19:30] [Music]

[20:07] Heat. Heat.

[20:09] [Music]

[20:24] Heat.