Groomed for violence? The dark world of furries and transgenderism in America's classrooms

The horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10 has sparked a number of politically charged conversations, not only about the frightening increase in political violence but about the suspected killer's associations with nonheteronormative relationships and so-called furries.

On September 12, just hours after investigators revealed that an engraving on one of the bullet casings makes reference to an online meme mocking gay furries, the suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22, was apprehended. In short order, details about Robinson and his alleged romantic relationship with roommate Lance Twiggs began to spread online. A photo of Twiggs wearing an animal costume went viral, and the New York Post and other outlets reported that an account name associated with Robinson appeared on the sexual fetish website FurAffinity.net, prompting speculation that Robinson has a "furry fixation."

A strange trend infiltrates public schools

In general, furries are people known to don animal costumes and exhibit animal-like behaviors. Once the sort of topic discussed only in hushed tones and in private company, furry culture has since gone mainstream, infiltrating common discourse — and even K-12 public education systems across the U.S. Reports indicate that since 2012, furry-like groups have sprung up in school districts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kentucky, and Texas.

'Most furries are LGBTQ+.'

In April 2024, Blaze News exposed a growing furry problem at Mt. Nebo Middle School in Payson, Utah, about 20 miles or so south of Utah Valley University, where Kirk was murdered. Students, parents, and even a former staff member at the school shared disturbing stories of students who identified as furries wearing animal-like costumes, barking at others, chewing on sticks in class, playing fetch in the halls, and even biting classmates who invaded their territory.

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Despite extensive video and photographic evidence of furries at the school, Nebo School District initially denied the existence of a furry problem, repeatedly insisting to Blaze News that the issue was akin to kids occasionally dressing up as their "favorite basketball player or baseball player."

"That’s just what kids this age do," district spokesman Seth Sorenson said at one point. "These rumors are unfounded and are not occurring in our schools," Sorenson told Blaze News in a separate statement.

Days later, the district moderated those denials, claiming to "take any and all harassment very seriously" and pledging that no group of students would be permitted "to target and harass other students without intervention and consequences." The updated statement, however, still made no mention of the furry group at the center of the harassment problem.

'Some degree of sexual motivation'

While Blaze News received numerous reports that Mt. Nebo furries were tormenting their classmates, none of the reported harassment there seemed to be sexual in nature. Yet admissions from furries and their supporters more broadly reveal that the furry culture is firmly grounded in sex and sexual identity.

A 2019 article published in Archives of Sexual Behavior found that 99% of the 334 male furries who participated in the authors' survey acknowledged "some degree of sexual motivation for being furries." Eighty-four percent categorized their sexual orientation as something other than heterosexual.

In a 2022 Religion News Service article that noted the high rates of atheism and anti-Christian bias among furries, Courtney Plante, a Furscience researcher and associate professor of psychology at Bishop’s University in Quebec, confirmed that "most furries are LGBTQ+."

Perhaps unwittingly, Debra Soh demonstrated the sexual foundation of the furry trend, even as she attempted to convince readers that furries are hardly "sex-crazed perverts." On the one hand, Soh gushed that the furries she met at a 2014 furry convention were "all friendly and welcoming, offering hugs and agreeing to have their photo taken." Yet in the next sentence, Soh noted that "they were mostly young, either teenaged or in their early 20s, male, and identifying as gay or transgender."

Likewise, in a Psychology Today blog post in 2017, Hal Herzog, Ph.D., claimed that characterizations of furries as "fetishists or as psychologically dysfunctional people" are "misconceptions" that "are demonstrably false," even as he admitted that "furries are seven times more likely than the general population to identify as transgender and about five times more likely to identify as non-heterosexual."

Despite the widely understood association between furries and sex, furries and others on the left often pretend that furry culture is mainly about community, that the animal costumes and "fursonas" help otherwise socially awkward introverts interact with others and express themselves in everyday, family-friendly situations.

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June 29, 2024, Furries in costume at the annual Pride in London parade. Photo by: Andy Soloman/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

United Utah Furry Fandom, for example, characterizes its members as "free-spirited and creative individuals" who simply "enjoy embodying characters that look and act like anthropomorphic animals." However, the group likewise acknowledges that "many members of the furry community tend to either have Autistic Spectrum Disorder, neurodivergence, or other traits that make social interaction in conventional spaces difficult."

Of note, U2F2 adds that furries often "align with LGBTQ+ values" but insists that any presumed association between furries and sexual deviancy is "false."

By contrast, Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, explained to Blaze News that such assertions are a form of gaslighting in which leftists claim that disturbing groups like furries do not exist or if they do exist, they pose no danger. In many cases, these gaslighters imply that those voicing concerns are either overreacting or manifesting latent bigotry.

"These people do this stuff because ... it sounds unbelievable and like it's not happening," Schilling said. "That's how the whole trans thing played out."

Schilling indicated that so many parents and medical professionals have gotten away with mangling children through so-called "gender-affirming care" because until recently, the idea of letting "a kid get a sex-change procedure" was considered "preposterous." He believes that the furry trend has spread for the same reason.

"It's dangerous, and it's hurting our education system."

'If you say we're not going to have any rules, we're not going to teach that anything's right or wrong, well, then you get furries in your seventh-grade classroom.'

U2F2 did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News, but did offer a statement in response to the Kirk murder.

"We condemn in the strongest terms the spreading of hate, conspiracy theories, and misinformation from any side of the political spectrum. For years, our leaders and volunteers have dedicated themselves to creating safe, welcoming, and joyful spaces for others — a mission that has always been the foundation of the fandom. Our community is built on creativity, inclusivity, and mutual support," U2F2 said, according to KTVX.

"We are saddened that our community has been dragged into this climate of hostility, and our thoughts remain with everyone directly affected by these tragic events."

'Sexual anarchy'

Like many others on the right, Schilling does not view the furry trend as a benign cosplay niche for weird adults. He made plain to Blaze News that furries are instead indulging in a "disgusting" sexual fetish.

"You can't separate the sexual from the furries. It is part and parcel," he told Blaze News. "They're constantly fantasizing about hooking up in these costumes."

Schilling further warned that the sexual component of furries is present in school-age groups too and has a particular impact on students who regularly use online forums and games. "These online forums are full of pornography. It's a whole porn genre," he said.

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Cosplayers known as "furries" march during San Diego Pride Parade on July 15, 2023, in San Diego, California. Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

Schilling believes that furries and other alleged sex-related deviancies like transgenderism have resulted from the overall "sexual anarchy" that has pervaded American culture, especially online and in public schools. "If you say we're not going to have any rules, we're not going to teach that anything's right or wrong, well, then you get furries in your seventh-grade classroom," he claimed. "You get complete disorder and chaos."

"The online world is radicalizing these kids, and then the schools are actually supporting it," he said in reference to furries. "Basically, the schools are treating it as a protected class."

Ties to violence

Tyler Robinson is hardly the first accused assassin with ties to transgenderism. In fact, he's not even the only suspected assassin with ties to transgenderism from Washington City, Utah, in just the last 16 months.

In June 2024, Mia Bailey, a 28-year-old man whose given name was Collin Troy Bailey, allegedly marched into the Washington City home of his parents — 70-year-old Joseph Bailey and 69-year-old Gail Bailey — and opened fire. Police found the couple shot to death. Joseph had been struck twice and Gail four times. Police also said the suspect attempted to gun down his brother, who locked himself in a room before making a daring escape to a neighbor's home.

After an extensive manhunt, Mia Bailey eventually surrendered to police. While in custody, Bailey allegedly told cops, "I would do it again. I hate them." In June 2025, he pled not guilty to two counts of aggravated murder, one count of attempted murder, seven counts of felony discharge of a firearm, and aggravated burglary.

Despite the transgenderism link to two Washington City-based murder suspects in just over a year, Washington City Mayor Kress Staheli called the Kirk shooting "an isolated incident," while Police Chief Jason Williams claimed that it "wasn’t really a reflection of our community."

"One individual doesn’t define who we are as a community," Staheli added.

Staheli did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

RELATED: It's time to address America's transgender ideology problem

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance pay their respects at Annunciation Catholic Church.Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Transgenderism has also been a common theme in other national atrocities within the last few years.

Just weeks before Kirk's horrific death on September 10, a trans-identifying male shot up Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, murdering two schoolchildren and injuring more than a dozen others attending Mass. The trans-identifying suspect in that case, Robert "Robin" Westman, who committed suicide at the scene, left behind a handwritten letter, journals, and a video that indicated he was motivated by hatred for President Donald Trump and the Catholic Church.

Goodwill-Yost had previously introduced her 17-year-old daughter to the furry 'subculture,' where the teen met Acosta and Frank Felix ... described as 'obsessed' with the girl.

In March 2023, a trans-identifying female stormed into the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, and mowed down three adults and three children with bullets. The manifesto she left behind revealed deep-seated anti-Christian and anti-white bigotry.

Deadly meeting through furry 'subculture'

Furries have also been implicated in heinous crimes as well.

In September 2016, Jennifer Goodwill-Yost, 39; her husband, Christopher Yost, 35; and their friend Arthur “Billy” Boucher, 28, were shot to death by Joshua Acosta, a 21-year-old Army mechanic stationed at Ft. Irwin in Barstow, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Goodwill-Yost had previously introduced her 17-year-old daughter to the furry "subculture," where the teen met Acosta and Frank Felix, then 25, who soon began a relationship with the girl, despite her parents' objections, and later supplied the gun and ammunition used in the commission of the crime. The D.A. described Felix as "obsessed" with the girl.

On the night of the murders, Acosta and Felix drove to the teen's house. After she jumped in their truck, Acosta went into her home and shot Boucher, who was sleeping on the couch, followed by Goodwill-Yost, whom the teen had previously accused of abuse. Lastly, Acosta shot Yost, the girl's stepfather, whom she accused of molesting her, as he was attempting to flee.

Two children, ages 6 and 9, were left alive and woke up the next morning and called 911 after discovering the dead bodies.

For their crimes, Felix was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, and Acosta was sentenced to life plus 75 years. Neither man has the possibility of parole.

The LockJaw Arts murder

In March 2020, a Las Vegas couple tied to the furry world enticed 57-year-old Michael Crabtree to invite them to his home under the pretext of a threesome and then savagely murdered him. Police also indicated that the pair confessed to killing and skinning a dog.

Tonya Dillard, 33, and Jacob Berkovitz, 29, both pled guilty, though Berkovitz pled "guilty but mentally ill." Dillard will spend at least 14 years behind bars, while Berkovitz has a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 20 years plus a consecutive minimum sentence of eight years.

In the furry world, Dillard was known as "Vincent Vex," while Berkovitz went by "Jax." The pair is believed to have operated LockJaw Arts, offering furry costumes and furry-related art. An Instagram account for LockJaw Arts shares violent and pornographic depictions of furries.

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Screenshot of Nevada corrections website

Child sex trafficking at a furry party

In 2017, David Parker pled guilty to sex trafficking involving a minor and was later sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Reports indicate that in 2009 he began taking a boy under 10 years old to furry parties, where he offered the boy to an adult male for sexual purposes.

Four others besides Parker were charged in connection with what lehighvalleylive.com described as a "furries' child predator sex ring," but at least one of the defendants, Kenneth Fenske, accused of raping the child, was acquitted of all charges.

Online grooming

In September 2024, 41-year-old Adam Woolacott pled guilty in a court in Vancouver, British Columbia, to sexual interference, arranging a sexual offense against a child, and making sexually explicit material available to someone under 16.

Woolacott was sentenced to spend just six years behind bars despite having five separate sexual encounters with a girl he met in a furry group on Facebook. The girl was only 12 when she first made contact with Woolacott, who was then 35, according to Vancouver Is Awesome.

At his sentencing hearing, Judge Donna Senniw claimed that Woolacott knew the victim's age from the start. "[The victim] said he was the reason other men exploited her and had been abused, used, and groomed," Senniw stated.

'It's totally demonic'

Considering the surge in cases of trans-related violence and the alarming link between LGBTQ identities and furries, Schilling told Blaze News that parents must stay alert and "raise holy hell" about any instances of furries they see in their local school district. Otherwise, the furry fetish will metastasize and morph into something even worse.

"It's not always going to be furries," he said. "It's going to be something else totally crazy and something that we didn't even imagine. I mean, think about this: Ten years ago, would you have ever imagined that furries would be a new sexual fetish and that children in schools would be identifying as it? No, because it's unthinkable. It's unimaginable.

"It's demonic. It's demonic," he reiterated. "It's totally demonic."

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