The transgender boyfriend of Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson bounced between homes during their latter years of high school because he disapproved of his family’s Mormon faith.
Lance Twiggs, 22, was born into a blended family with six biological children and three adoptees. The brothers closest to Twiggs are both estranged from the family, but relocated far away from Utah in their adult years.
When Twiggs was in high school, his parents kicked him to the curb for allegedly dabbling in drugs and alcohol while he was underage, a friend told The Post.
Braylon Nielsen, 19, said her family took Twiggs in during his junior year in 2021. He was good friends with her brothers, but no one else in the family really knew much about the troubled teen.
“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.
“I loved Lance. His parents kicked him out of his house, and he lived with us. His parents never sat right with my family.”
She said that Twiggs’ family gave him the boot because he drifted away from their Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beliefs. She added that his parents seemed like overbearing religious zealots and tacked up his family member’s claims as spiteful gossip.
“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 said.
Nielsen praised Twiggs as a “hardworking” and “straight A” student who went out of his way to make sure everyone was included during his time at UT Success Academy, an accelerated program for gifted students seeking college-level courses.
“We went to a dance once, a high school dance, and he was very involved with it. Made sure everyone had rides. Made sure everyone had clothes. He just took care of people. My sister’s car broke down once, and he came out to help her,” she said.
UT Success Academy Executive Director Ben Kaufman didn’t have any overlap with Twiggs, who graduated around the time he started working at the school.
Recently, though, Kaufman said he’s heard nothing but glowing reports about Twiggs from the school community members.
“Everything I’ve heard about him, he was a great kid. He was nice. He worked hard,” he said.
Though for all his openness, Nielsen said that she “had no clue Lance was trans.”
She was quick to defend her friend and confidently claimed he had no part in Robinson’s plan.
“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.
Twiggs recently abandoned the cozy townhouse he shared with Robinson, who was also raised as a devout Mormon, in St. George, Utah.
Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby previously said that Twiggs was in a “safe space very far away from St. George,” and needed “to lay low for a long time.”
He hasn’t been charged with a crime in connection with Kirk’s assassination, and is reportedly cooperating with authorities.
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