Image source, Reuters

At the centre of this growing controversy are Jimmy Kimmel’s remarks about the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The late-night host claimed on Monday that Donald Trump’s “Maga” supporters were “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it”.

But what do we know about the suspect’s political beliefs?

The shooting happened on 10 September as Kirk, a Trump ally, spoke at a university campus in Utah. After a 33-hour manhunt, Tyler Robinson, 22, was taken into custody.

On Saturday – before Kimmel’s comments – Utah’s governor, Republican Spencer Cox, said: “It’s very clear to us and to the investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”

On Sunday, Cox added that Robinson’s political ideology was “very different” from his conservative family.

On Tuesday – after Kimmel’s comments – more details were released, including that Robinson’s mother said her son had started to lean more to the left.

It was also revealed that Robinson messaged his roommate about Kirk after the shooting, saying: “I’ve had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Public records reviewed by the BBC suggest Robinson had in the past registered as an unaffiliated, or nonpartisan, voter in Utah. His parents are registered Republicans, according to state records.

You can read more about Tyler Robinson here.