A well-wisher adds flowers to a makeshift memorial set up at Turning Point USA headquarters after the shooting death at a Utah college on Wednesday of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder and CEO of the organization, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP - Ross D. Franklin
A well-wisher adds flowers to a makeshift memorial set up at Turning Point USA headquarters after the shooting death at a Utah college on Wednesday of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder and CEO of the organization, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP - Ross D. Franklin
TORONTO - A Toronto man says he is horrified and shocked after he was falsely accused of shooting an American conservative commentator he had never even heard of.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of Republican President Donald Trump, was shot dead Wednesday at a Utah college event.
Michael Mallinson, a retired banker, says he later received a call from his panicked daughter shouting over the phone and begging him to delete his social media accounts.
Mallinson says he quickly Googled his name to see what was happening, and he came across posts that falsely labelled him as a Democrat who shot and killed Kirk.
Photos of Mallinson went viral after a fake news account misidentified him as a man whom police arrested then released in connection to the shooting.
He says the family is stressed after receiving a flood of negative attention and hateful messages in the wake of the misinformation.
This report by 春色直播was first published Sept. 11, 2025.
