Tyler Robinson, 22, the man identified as the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, sent taunting and joking messages in a private Discord chat hours after the attack, according to screenshots and law enforcement accounts. Robinson has since turned himself in and faces imminent formal charges, including aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, local prosecutors said.
Messages obtained and verified by The New York Times and reported by other outlets show Robinson and a group of roughly 20 acquaintances — many from high school or online communities — trading meme-laced remarks about the killing soon after the September shooting. In one exchange, a user jokingly tagged Robinson with the text "Tyler killed Charlie!!!!" and Robinson replied, "My doppelganger's trying to get me in trouble," screenshots show. When another participant suggested turning Robinson in for a federal reward, he wrote, "Only if I get a cut."
Kirk, 31, a co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, drawing both supporters and protesters. Investigators said the shooter climbed to the roof of a building several hundred feet from the venue, fired a single, fatal shot and then fled the campus. The FBI released surveillance stills showing a young man wearing sunglasses and a cap walking through a stairwell at the campus before the suspect was publicly identified.
Law enforcement officials and the news reporting said Robinson monitored news coverage of the shooting as it unfolded and mocked developing narratives about motive and evidence in the Discord chat. At one point he referenced a cartoon character whose face matched his Discord avatar and joked about faking his death to escape politics. In other messages he made a crude joke referencing an earlier high-profile fugitive arrest at a fast-food restaurant and wrote, "Better also get rid of this manifesto and exact copy rifle I have lying around," according to screenshots.
Evidence collected at the scene included spent shell casings engraved with phrases that investigators later confirmed contained a mix of taunts and political references, including an anti-fascist song lyric and an explicit meme phrase, authorities said. Investigators spent Friday at an apartment in St. George, Utah, that Robinson shared with a roommate collecting additional evidence, officials said.
Robinson surrendered to authorities in southwestern Utah after his family learned he was a person of interest and urged him to turn himself in, according to law enforcement statements. He was taken into custody more than three hours’ drive from the university campus. A person briefed on the investigation said Robinson at times implied involvement and ultimately acknowledged his role before surrendering; prosecutors are expected to file charges on Tuesday.
Public tributes and political responses followed the killing. Conservative outlets and supporters paid tribute to Kirk, and national political figures issued statements mourning his death. Investigators, meanwhile, continued to reconstruct the events on campus, review surveillance footage and seek additional witnesses. Authorities have described the shooting as a single-shot attack from an elevated position and said they were treating it as an aggravated homicide.
Members of the Discord group reacted with disbelief and alarm to Robinson's arrest, according to the screenshots. One user wrote that the state was seeking the death penalty, while others expressed uncertainty that the arrest was real. The private exchanges, which included gallows humor and references to political divisions, offered investigators a window into the suspect’s behavior in the hours after the shooting.
As the criminal case proceeds, prosecutors will present evidence to support felony charges tied to Kirk’s death. The investigation remains active, and law enforcement officials have urged anyone with information about the shooting or the suspect's movements to come forward. Local authorities say they will release additional details as charges are filed and the judicial process begins.