Joe Kent digs into Charlie Kirk assassination probe: 'We're not allowed to ask any questions'

WOODSTOCK, MAINE: Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent addressed the assassination of Charlie Kirk and highlighted the late TPUSA founder's stance on a potential Iran war during an appearance on 'The Tucker Carlson Show' aired on Thursday, March 19. 

Kirk, a conservative political activist and campaigner for President Donald Trump, was fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University. The alleged shooter Tyler Robinson is currently undergoing trial.

Joe Kent raises questions on Charlie Kirk assassination

Kent described Kirk’s killing as a “very horrific” public act and stated that “we're not really even allowed to look into that at all.” He noted that Kirk "was one of President Trump’s closest advisors and had strongly advocated against a war with Iran."

Kent recalled his last interaction with Kirk in June at the West Wing, where Kirk reportedly told him, “Joe, stop us from getting into a war with Iran,” before heading toward the Oval Office. He argued that when a senior advisor who opposed war with Iran is “suddenly publicly assassinated, and we're not allowed to ask any questions about that” it becomes “a data point” that requires further scrutiny.

When Carlson asked, "What do you mean when you say we're not allowed to ask any questions about that?" Kent responded "We've been told that this individual, Robinson, is a lone gunman and maybe he is."

He continued, "But the investigation that I was a part of, the National Counterterrorism Center was a part of, we were stopped from continuing to investigate. And the FBI will say that they stopped that because they wanted to turn everything over to the Utah state authorities."

Kent stated, "Everything's going to trial. It's very, very sensitive. But there are still a lot for us to look into that I can't really get into. But there was still linkage for us to investigate that we needed to run down."

While clarifying that he was not drawing conclusions, Kent insisted that “there's unanswered questions.” He referenced publicly available text messages indicating that Kirk was "under pressure from pro-Israel donors" and reiterated that Kirk had been advocating against US involvement in a war with Iran.

Charlie Kirk’s views on Iran and opposition to war

Amid the military operation launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, targeting Iran’s political and military establishment over concerns about its nuclear enrichment program, Kirk’s views have resurfaced.

Five months before his assassination in September 2025, Kirk posted on X warning against escalating conflict in the Middle East.

He wrote that “It’s going unnoticed because so much other news is happening, but the war drums are beating again in DC. The warmongers worry this is their last chance to get the white whale they’ve been chasing for thirty years, an all-out regime change war against Iran."

Kirk cautioned, "A new Middle East war would be a catastrophic mistake. Our military stockpiles are depleted from three years of backing Ukraine. Our effort to re-shore manufacturing has only just begun and will take years to bear fruit."

He continued, "War would worsen our already immense deficit and national debt. Iran is larger than Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan combined. A war would not be easy and could easily become a calamity."

Kirk emphasized that Iran’s size would make any conflict difficult and potentially disastrous, adding that the US had “a golden opportunity to pull away from Middle East quagmires” following what he described as restraint during Trump’s first term.