Charlie Kirk’s alleged murderer made sick joks in a private Discord chat just hours after the shooting. Tyler Robinson, 22, has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting the right-wing activist during his viral Prove Me Wrong debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
According to new messages obtained by the New York Times, Robinson joked that his “doppelganger” killed Kirk. He also mocked the FBI investigation while joking about obtaining reward money. However, the 22-year-old has since been arrested and identified as the prime suspect in the assassination after his dad reportedly turned him in.
After the shooting, the FBI shared two CCTV pictures of a man wearing a cap and sunglasses in a stairwell at the university. They appealed to the public for their help in identifying the suspect.
A person known to Robinson then tagged him in a Discord chat, consisting of around 20 people, and wrote: “Wya (where you at?),” with a skull emoji. Robinson then replied almost instantly: “My doppelganger’s trying to get me in trouble.”
Another user said: “Tyler killed Charlie!!!!” The messages were sent at around 1pm local time on Thursday afternoon, hours before Robinson was arrested later that night.
A third user joked about turning Robinson in for the $100,000 FBI reward. The alleged shooter replied: “Only if I get a cut.”
Another person referenced Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing the United Healthcare CEO, warning Robinson not to go to McDonald’s. Robinson said in reply: “Better also get rid of this manifesto and exact copy rifle I have lying around.”
The alleged killer also wrote at one point: “I’m actually Charlie Kirk. Wanted to get outta politics so I faked my death, now I can live out my dream life in Kansas.”
As the news of the shooting made headlines across the world, Robinson appeared to be monitoring the situation. He said on the Discord: “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.”
However, some members of the chat were in disbelief after Robinson was arrested. One said: “Our governor wants to give him the death penalty dude,” while a second added: “I truly cannot distinguish if this is for real.”