Lance Twiggs, the 22-year-old transgender boyfriend of Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, was reportedly kicked out of his family home during high school due to a severe clash over his Mormon faith.
Twiggs was forced to leave after drifting away from his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) beliefs. He found shelter with two brothers from a large, blended family in St. George, Utah, according to the brothers’ sister, Braylon Nielsen.
Twiggs stayed with the family on and off, beginning in his junior year in 2021. Nielsen, 19, recalls the high schooler struggling to find a stable place to stay.
“It was on and off. He was bouncing couches. He would live with us for a few months, but didn’t like taking up our couch. He would crash with friends,” she explained.
Lance, that I know of, has never done drugs. He was always like, ‘I don’t want to go out and party.’ He just wasn’t a big partier,” she insisted.
Friends and former school staff offered a positive portrait of Twiggs. Nielsen praised him as a “hardworking” and “straight A” student at UT Success Academy, an accelerated program for gifted students. She emphasized his commitment to inclusion:
“He just took care of people. My sister’s car broke down once, and he came out to help her,” she recalled.
Ben Kaufman, Executive Director of UT Success Academy, who did not overlap with Twiggs but has heard recent reports, stated, “Everything I’ve heard about him, he was a great kid. He was nice. He worked hard.”
Despite their closeness, Nielsen admitted that she “had no clue Lance was trans.” She was quick, however, to defend him vehemently against any suggestion of involvement in the assassination plot against Charlie Kirk.
“I think that’s all Tyler. The Lance that I knew would never do something like that. I could never see Lance doing that,” she insisted.
Nielsen’s mother, Jackie, echoed this belief, calling Twiggs “a good kid… He’s compassionate. He minds his own business.” She urged the public to reserve judgment, stating, “I hope the world lightens up on him and stops being so hateful until they have all the facts. He doesn’t deserve this.”
Twiggs recently abandoned the townhouse in St. George he shared with Robinson, who was also reportedly raised as a devout Mormon. Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby previously confirmed that Twiggs was moved to a “safe space very far away from St. George,” where he needs “to lay low for a long time.”
Twiggs has not been charged with a crime in connection with Kirk’s assassination and is reportedly cooperating with authorities.