The individual accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus claimed that his ‘lookalike’ was the one responsible for the shooting, while jesting about the incident in a private Discord conversation.
Tyler Robinson, 22, found humor in the manhunt for the shooter, joking about the FBI’s efforts to track down the person involved. He even discussed matters like reward money and possible manifestos before eventually surrendering to authorities, according to messages found by The New York Times.
Robinson, now arrested and identified as the main suspect in Kirk’s death, showed no signs of regret in the hours following the tragic event, based on screenshots shared by a former schoolmate.
He seemed to enjoy the spotlight, exchanging memes and jokes with friends while law enforcement agencies frantically worked to identify and capture the perpetrator.
‘Tyler killed Charlie!!!!’ one user wrote in a group chat on Thursday afternoon, jokingly tagging Robinson.
Robinson fired back almost instantly: ‘My doppelganger’s trying to get me in trouble,’ he wrote.
This dark humor surfaced just hours after the FBI had released surveillance images of a young man, wearing sunglasses and a cap, traversing a stairwell at Utah Valley University where Kirk had been speaking.
At that point, the suspect was still publicly unidentified, but privately, Robinson was already toying with the truth.
Merely a few hours after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on campus, the accused assailant was making light of the situation in a private Discord chat.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, is seen throwing hats to the crowd after arriving at Utah Valley University on September 10, in Orem, Utah. He was later shot in the neck and killed
One of the final jokes he made before his arrest referenced Jon Arbuckle, the clueless cartoon owner of Garfield, whose face adorned Robinson’s Discord avatar
The messages, verified by the Times, depict a young man fully aware of the investigation – and mocking it.
When another user joked about turning Robinson in for the $100,000 FBI reward, he quipped, ‘Only if I get a cut.’
When someone warned him not to go to McDonald’s – a reference to previous high-profile fugitive Luigi Mangione who was arrested there last December, Robinson responded with a grotesque punchline.
‘Better also get rid of this manifesto and exact copy rifle I have lying around,’ he wrote.
The Discord chat, consisting of about 20 users who had known each other from high school or online communities, became a chilling window into the suspect’s post-shooting mindset.
While public tributes to Kirk were flooding conservative media, and President Trump was issuing national proclamations in his honor, the accused killer was behind a screen, joking about everything from red-state politics to fake deaths.
‘I’m actually Charlie Kirk,’ Robinson wrote at one point.
‘Wanted to get outta politics so I faked my death, now I can live out my dream life in Kansas.’
Tyler Robinson, 22, appeared to revel in the attention, exchanging meme-laced jabs with acquaintances while authorities scrambled to find the person responsible
A person of interest in the fatal shooting of Kirk can be seen dressed in black and walking on a building roof before jumping off and walking out of the Utah Valley University premises
Investigators spent all day on Friday collecting evidence in an apartment that shooting suspect Tyler Robinson shared with a roommate in St. George, Utah
As wall-to-wall coverage of the shooting continued, Robinson also appeared to be monitoring it in real time.
‘I heard the ammo had somethin about trans stuff on it, but they aren’t releasing photos or exact quotes and also the claim wasn’t backed by the official fbi, just some dude in the briefing room,’ he wrote.
In fact, the casings found at the scene were later confirmed to be engraved with phrases including ‘Hey fascist! CATCH!’, lyrics from an anti-fascist Italian song, and a sexually explicit meme reference.
But at the time, Robinson was already theorizing and joking about media narratives and the political fallout.
‘In a red state??? Nah CLEARLY the shooter was from California,’ he typed, mocking the idea of federal intervention in Utah.
One of the final jokes he made before his arrest referenced Jon Arbuckle, the clueless cartoon owner of Garfield, whose face adorned Robinson’s Discord avatar.
Despite the mounting evidence, some members of the Discord chat were still in disbelief when the arrest was announced.
‘Our governor wants to give him the death penalty dude,’ one wrote.
‘I truly cannot distinguish if this is for real,’ added another.
As wall-to-wall news coverage of the shooting continued, Robinson also appeared to be monitoring it in real time judging by his online messages
People attend a vigil honoring slain conservative political activist Charlie Kirk during an event in Provo, Utah, on Friday
Kirk, 31, co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on Wednesday during a speaking event that had drawn both supporters and protestors.
Authorities say the gunman climbed to the roof of a building a few hundred feet from the venue and fired a single, fatal shot before fleeing the campus.
Police say that Robinson later implied or confessed to the crime and ultimately turned himself in in southwestern Utah, more than three hours drive from the scene.
His family urged him to surrender after learning of his involvement.
Local prosecutors are expected to file formal charges on Tuesday, including aggravated murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
