Ultra-right media points fingers at Armed Queers of SLC for connection to Kirk shooting
Four days after the murder of Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk at an event in Utah, the ultra-right-leaning New York Post published a story that the FBI was investigating Utah activist Ermiya Fanaeian and her group, Armed Queers of Salt Lake City.
“The feds have widened their investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk to probe whether pro-trans, online groups and others connected with Tyler Robinson knew in advance about the plan to kill the MAGA influencer, The Post has learned,” citing unnamed “law enforcement sources.” The FBI and State Department have declined to comment to many more reliable news sources, yet those outlets continue to spread the information, citing the New York Post story. MAGA social media posters are also spreading the unsubstantiated story.
Fanaeian is an activist and organizer whose work has spanned gun violence prevention, LGBTQ+ rights, and broader social justice causes. She first came to public attention as a high school student, co-founding the Utah chapter of March for Our Lives in the wake of the Parkland shooting. Her early efforts focused on mobilizing young people and raising awareness of gun violence as a public health issue.
In 2020, Fanaeian formed the Salt Lake City chapter of Pink Pistols, a national LGBTQ gun owners group. She organized firearms training and safety instruction for LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly trans women, framing self-defense as a necessary response to persistent violence and a lack of institutional protection. In 2021, Fanaeian and Pink Pistols parted ways, and Fanaeian established Armed Queers of Salt Lake City, which broadened her activism to include not only firearms education but also political education, mutual aid, and community defense initiatives. Alongside her organizational work, she has conducted academic research, including a 2025 University of Utah study on perceptions of campus policing and its impact on gender-oppressed people. She has also been active in advocacy against conversion therapy, for abortion access, and in support of trans youth within the education system.
Fanaeian interviewed with QSaltLake publisher and editor Michael Aaron in response to the allegations.
Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. How did you first hear about these claims, and what went through your mind when you did? I first encountered these slanderous attacks against myself and my comrades when people started sending me articles and social media posts from right-wing sources. I knew they would try to paint a narrative that trans individuals and leftist organizers were to blame. But what shocked me was how far they went with the lies, and how eager they were to portray us as a threat. It was painfully obvious that the truth wasn’t their priority — only fueling a campaign of hysteria.
Why do you think your name and your group are being brought into this situation? They’re trying to portray oppressed people as armed, dangerous, and responsible for the political violence plaguing the very roots of this country — a narrative they’ve been pushing for decades. As a Middle Eastern woman, a trans person, and someone who stands firmly against white supremacy, capitalism, and patriarchy, I’m a prime target for their agenda. They couldn’t have chosen a better face for their intensified repression campaign than me and my comrades.
Armed Queers has described its mission as one of self-defense and mutual aid. How do you want people to understand that work, especially when outside voices are painting a different picture? It’s important to know that we stand for the dignity of all working-class and oppressed people in this country and abroad. Being able to practice the fundamental right of self-defense, a right that is granted by the laws of this country, and build resistance movements that fight for our principles, is something we take great pride in. It is obvious that the fascist forces in this country believe that who should be able to defend themselves is entirely conditional, but we understand our duty in building power among the people, and recognize that we play as important agents in shaping history. There’s no amount of defamation and fabricated images painted of us by the media that can make us give up on people’s struggles.
Do you have any connection at all to the person who carried out the shooting, or insight into why people are trying to link you to it? No. Not at all. They are looking for a convenient target to blame, and I must be their newest poster child of the movements they yearn to suppress. The shooter is a white man, with plenty of evidence that his politics were diametrically opposed to ours. One minute, they claimed he was trans, and the next, they claimed the bullets were trans, and now they are claiming every trans person within the same state as the shooter is responsible. The goal is emotional exploitation, to organize people against anyone who challenges their reactionary politics, and paint them as an enemy. The good news is people are smarter than that and see right through it.
A lot of LGBTQ+ people are worried about the power of misinformation right now. How do you think these stories affect queer safety in Utah? Propaganda against us, as queer, trans, and oppressed people, is certainly on the rise as it has been for decades in this country. They are absolutely invested in the project of making us out to be the enemies. But it’s important to remember that our safety comes from our resistance.
What do you want to say to queer Utahns who may be feeling more targeted or unsafe because of all this attention? We cannot let them put us back into the closet. Now is the time to learn about the history of how our movements have struggled against such attacks in the past, and stay optimistic about our ability to win. They can never take away our dignity and trans power.
Beyond the current situation, what do you see as the larger issues at play when it comes to queer self-defense, government surveillance, and being scapegoated in political moments? It is crucial to recognize that the targeted scapegoating of trans people, the intensified surveillance of leftist organizers, the genocide being funded in Palestine, and the abduction of our immigrant neighbors off the streets — these are all hallmarks of the morally bankrupt country that America has always been. Let’s not forget how they responded when queer folks were dying from AIDS, or the fact that nations they claim are our enemies, like Cuba, are making strides in advancing LGBTQ rights as we speak. For many, this moment represents the first time they’ve seen the mask of American exceptionalism slip, and it’s understandably unsettling. But it’s vital that we do not allow ourselves to remain paralyzed by fear. We must believe in our collective strength, our power to fight for our rights, and a better world.
Looking forward, what gives you hope about continuing the work of Armed Queers in this climate, and what does accountability and truth-telling look like for you? It gives me hope that so many people we speak to in our organizing work are, in fact, in agreement with the vision we have for the world. Everybody we speak to, from labor unions to families to houseless people, and virtually anybody in our community right now either understands or is beginning to understand our fight for working and oppressed people. They want us to believe we are a fringe minority, but the truth is our principles are the global majority. Telling our people about this reality, and remembering it, is vital.
