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The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September 2025 once again placed attention on a long running conflict inside the American far right. Kirk, a prominent supporter of former President Donald Trump and head of Turning Point USA, was shot during an event at Utah Valley University. As investigators examine the motive behind the attack, online debate quickly focused on extremist circles that previously targeted him, most notably the Groyper network aligned with far right figure Nick Fuentes.
Authorities identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as a suspect in the shooting. Initial reporting noted that Robinson had no criminal history. Early speculation on social media linked him to Fuentes’ supporters, based on claims that Robinson had expressed admiration for Fuentes and hostility toward Kirk for being insufficiently conservative. None of these claims have been formally confirmed. Fuentes has dismissed the speculation and accused his critics of “framing” him and his followers without evidence.
“This is pure evil,” Fuentes said, responding to attempts to connect his movement to the shooting. He added that he and his supporters were being targeted “based on literally zero evidence” and urged his followers not to respond with hostility.
Kirk had long been a target of Groypers, who accused him of being too moderate and too close to mainstream conservatism – Kirk referred to them as ‘extremists’. The fatal attack therefore reignited a dispute that began several years earlier, during a period when Fuentes’ supporters attempted to push their ideology deeper into the Republican grassroots.
The Groyper movement is an online far right network built around the livestreamer and political activist Nick Fuentes. The Anti Defamation League describes Groypers as alt right, white supremacist and Christian nationalist activists. They advocate antisemitic, racist and homophobic beliefs, often framing their ideology around “traditional values” and “America First” sentiments. The group grew online and was named after a variant of the Pepe the frog meme, which it uses as its mascot.
Fuentes’ followers began referring to themselves as Groypers in 2019, during a sharp internal dispute inside the conservative movement. That year, Kirk’s Turning Point USA was conducting a college speaking tour. Fuentes’ supporters disrupted events by taking over microphones, pressing aggressively on questions about immigration, LGBTQ rights and US-Israel relations. They presented themselves as defenders of “true conservatism” while accusing Kirk and other Republican figures of watering down Trump’s message.
The clash became known as the “Groyper War” and generated significant momentum for Fuentes online. His supporters pushed the idea that mainstream conservatives were “Conservative Inc.” and insufficiently nationalist or pro white. At a Turning Point USA event in November 2019 at UCLA, Trump Jr.’s appearance was cut short after sustained heckling from Groypers.
The movement has since grown into a loose digital network. Groypers are highly active on X and 4chan, along with other platforms, and are known for targeted harassment. Researchers studying online extremism have observed Groyper imagery appearing frequently in online spaces with high levels of hateful speech, often attached to anonymous accounts tweeting about race, politics and religion.
Groypers also frame themselves as pushing the Republican Party toward a harder nationalist line. Fuentes has said his intention is to pull the party “kicking and screaming” into a more reactionary direction. Several Groypers were linked to the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021.
Although fragmented at times, the movement regained visibility again in 2024 when Fuentes launched what he called “Groyper War 2”, a digital pressure campaign aimed at influencing Trump’s presidential campaign.
While the movement is decentralised, its ideology is consistent. It blends white nationalist narratives, antisemitic conspiracy theories, Christian nationalism and hostility to immigration and LGBTQ rights. Groypers have attempted to use mainstream conservative spaces to introduce increasingly extreme rhetoric through gradual radicalisation.
Nick Fuentes is a far right commentator known for antisemitic statements and extremist rhetoric. Reports say he has praised Adolf Hitler and denied the Holocaust, including a comparison referring to the six million murdered Jews as “cookies being baked in an oven”. Born in 1998 in suburban Chicago, Fuentes gained attention after withdrawing from college following the 2017 Charlottesville white-supremacist rally. He built a following on YouTube by presenting extreme views in a satirical style, which attracted younger audiences on the far right.
Fuentes’ supporters often refer to him as the central figure of America First nationalism and the online far right space.. At different points he has praised authoritarianism, rejected democratic processes and called for a future in which conservatives no longer rely on electoral politics. He has criticised both Democrats and Republicans, arguing that mainstream politics no longer represents the interests of young white conservatives.
Following Kirk’s killing, Fuentes publicly expressed shock. “It feels like a nightmare that we will never wake up from,” he posted. He urged calm and called for unity. He also demanded full disclosure from authorities about the suspect’s online communications, including Discord messages, arguing that transparency was necessary.
The fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk has returned the Groyper movement to the centre of public discussion, not because authorities have established a link but because of the long history of hostility between Fuentes’ supporters and Kirk. This history stretches back years. Groypers once disrupted Kirk’s events, mocked his organisation and accused him of undermining hardline nationalism inside the Republican Party. He responded by labelling them extremists.
The broader question is how the far right interacts with mainstream conservative politics. Fuentes and the Groypers have pushed for greater influence by positioning themselves as the “real” representatives of a younger generation of Republicans. Reports have noted that a portion of young conservative staffers in Washington have adopted Groyper aligned views or online habits. The movement also participated in the events surrounding January 6 and has continued to shape corners of online political culture through memes, livestreams and coordinated pressure campaigns.
At the same time, the movement has faced internal splits, including disagreements about infiltration, security risks and loyalty to Fuentes. These divisions have not erased its relevance. The renewed attention underscores how deeply digital extremist networks are now embedded within the fringes of American conservatism.
The discussions unfolding now reflect a deeper divide inside the right, between mainstream conservatives and a digital movement seeking to redefine the future of the American far-right. [Rh]
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