Media Clearly Trying To Bury That Alleged Rhode Island Mass Shooter Was Transgender

The suspect accused of shooting and killing two people at a Rhode Island ice rink on Monday before killing himself has been identified as Robert Dorgan, a 56-year-old transgender who sometimes identified as Roberta Esposito. To be clear, that means the alleged murderer was a man who believed he was a woman.

Police say Dorgan opened fire inside the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket during a hockey game between Coventry and Blackstone Valley Schools. Authorities have described the incident as a "family dispute."

According to Fox News Digital, the shooter shot and killed his ex-wife, Rhonda, and his son, Aidan. Three others involved in the shooting remain in critical condition, including the Dorgan children’s grandparents, according to the GoFundMe.

Court records obtained by WPRI show Dorgan had been involved in multiple disputes with relatives in recent years, including tensions that escalated after undergoing gender reassignment surgery.  In 2020, Dorgan alleged that his father-in-law was trying to remove him from his house as a result of the operation. 

The day before the shooting, Dorgan posted a message threatening to go "BERSERK" in a trans-rights rant that was a reaction to conservative actor Kevin Sorbo referring to transgender Democrat Rep. Sarah McBride as "a man."

"Keep bashing us. But do not wonder why we Go BERSERK," Dorgan wrote.

Those details are central to understanding what happened. Yet much of the legacy media has omitted them. Here is how the New York Times covered the story:

The Washington Post offered even less, reporting only that "Three people, including the suspect, were fatally shot during a Rhode Island youth hockey game Monday."

Several updated stories on Tuesday also failed to note that the shooter was transgender, including a news report from The Wall Street Journal:

On its own, a shooter’s gender identity is not always necessary to include. In this case, it appears relevant.

Based on police statements, investigators believe Dorgan targeted family members with whom there had been longstanding disputes related to his transition. The social media post a day before the shooting also suggests gender identity may have played a role in the motive.

Leaving out Dorgan’s gender identity, given the apparent connection to motive, is a failure of basic reporting standards.

Unfortunately, selective identification in crime coverage is hardly new. Over time, major outlets have adopted narratives that they now must work backward to affirm. In some newsrooms, transgender identity is treated with even more sensitivity than race. 

Notably, the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk in 2025 was in a romantic relationship with a trans person. Text messages between the two indicate that Kirk’s views on transgenderism may have played a role in the motive to kill him. Thus, the press struggled with how to cover the situation.

ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman called the texts in which the suspect admitted to murdering Kirk "touching."

"But, also, it was very touching in a way that many of us didn’t expect," Gutman said on air. "A very intimate portrait into this relationship between the suspect’s roommate and the suspect himself, with him repeatedly calling his roommate, who is transitioning, ‘my love.’ And ‘I want to protect you, my love.’"

The media thinks it is doing the trans community a service by concealing when one of its members goes on a shooting spree. It is not. In reality, the press is burying an issue that needs immediate attention.

Per capita, trans people are more responsible for mass shootings than any other group in America. There is a problem with that. Something is causing them to commit homicide at this rate. This group needs help.

And the American media is making it worse by pretending these trans shootings aren't happening.