The 22-year-old suspect in the killing of the rightwing provocateur Charlie Kirk last week appeared to take responsibility for the fatal shooting in a message to friends on Discord, the chat platform has confirmed.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” said a message from an account allegedly belonging to the suspect, Tyler Robinson, mere hours before his arrest the day after Kirk’s killing on 10 September at Utah Valley University (UVU). “It was me at UVU yesterday. i’m sorry for all of this.”
The messages were first reported by the Washington Post on Monday. CBS News then reported a Discord spokesperson then confirmed the messages.
The news of the messages surfaced as Robinson was expected to appear in a Utah court on Tuesday to face formal charges that could include capital murder, which is punishable by the death penalty.
Robinson was arrested after a frantic manhunt and now formal charging documents are set to be made public after a later morning news conference by the Utah county prosecutor, Jeff Gray.
Robinson is also scheduled to make his first court appearance later on Tuesday, at which he will be arraigned. Federal charges could follow, according to the deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche. The appearance will probably be by video.
The charges will come as investigators continue to gather evidence against the suspect and to find out whether he acted alone or as part of a wider conspiracy. Federal hate crime charges could also follow.
A motive has not been revealed by Utah officials, but JD Vance has said “leftwing extremism” is “part of the reason” Kirk was killed, without providing details on any supporting evidence.
Late Monday on Fox News, the FBI director, Kash Patel, claimed the suspect had allegedly justified his actions by saying “some hatred cannot be negotiated with” and referred to apparent text messages.
“I will say what was found in terms of information, a text message exchange, where the suspect specifically stated he had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and he was gonna do that,” Patel told the outlet.
Despite the messages attributed to Robinson on the platform, Discord said an internal investigation found “no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence” on the platform.
Reportedly, in the discussion, at least three friends asked Robinson if he was the shooter, saying the photos released by the FBI resembled him. Robinson did not seem to refute it.
In one exchange, law enforcement sources reportedly told CBS, one friend told Robinson he should avoid McDonald’s, an apparent reference to Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December. Mangione was apprehended in a McDonald’s restaurant after a manhunt.
“Whatever you do don’t go to a mcdonalds anytime soon,” the friend wrote, according to the law enforcement sources.
The user believed to be Robinson, responded: “Better also get rid of this manifesto and exact copy rifle I have lying around.”
The exchanges concluded shortly before Robinson was arrested. “im surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments, thanks for all the good times and laughs, you’ve all been so amazing, thank you all for everything,” he reportedly wrote.
Robinson indeed surrendered the day after Kirk’s killing to authorities with the help of a family friend who was a law enforcement official, authorities have said.
On Monday, Patel revealed that DNA matching the suspect was found on a towel used to wrap the rifle believed to be used in the shooting and on a screwdriver found at the rooftop perch Robinson allegedly used to fire the fatal shot.
Separately, the FBI co-deputy director Dan Bongino told Fox News on Monday evening that Robinson was alleged to have had an “obsession” with Kirk, citing the suspect’s digital footprint appeared to have exhibited “multiple warning signs”.
“I believe co-workers stated he had detached himself when the topic of politics came up and walked away,” Bongino said, adding that the bureau was looking at whether they had prior knowledge but did not alert authorities.
“Did they … hear it and think it was a joke? That is what we’re trying to find out now,” Bongino said. “If there is a larger network here, we will get that out to the public as soon as we can.”
Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, has vowed to seek the death penalty for Kirk’s alleged killer but the state’s attorney general, Derek Brown, has said prosecutors are “still collecting facts”.
Utah law requires one of four “aggravating factors” for prosecutors to seek the death penalty in murder cases, including having multiple victims, targeting a police officer or public official, committing the crime in addition to another serious felony such as kidnapping, or being “especially heinous, atrocious, cruel or exceptionally depraved”.
“I can say that it’s obviously part of Utah law,” Brown said in an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune. “It is an option here, but it’s not something that I can talk about in terms of whether that will play a role in this case.”
But Brown noted that charges could be amended and any decision to seek the death penalty could come “at some point in the future”.
