Leaked messages show friends of alleged Kirk murderer 'searching for answers': report

Mugshot of 22 year-old Tyler Robinson, who is alleged to have shot and killed MAGA activist Charlie Kirk (Image: Utah Governor's Office)

A childhood friend of Tyler Robinson — the man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week — says his life looked very different from media portrayals, according to a new report by journalist Ken Klippenstein.

Robinson’s friend, who asked not to be named because of fear of threats, was quoted by Klippenstein in a post on his Substack published Tuesday. They also provided private messages on the Discord platform where Robinson allegedly confessed to the action.

The friend said, “It’s been so terrible and seeing it from an inside perspective is so frustrating.”

According to the piece, the friend also shared a non‑public photo of Robinson on a camping trip, one of his favorite activities, to establish credibility and show a side of him rarely discussed.

“He was always generally apolitical for the most part,” the friend told Klippenstein, per the article.

“That's the big thing, he just never really talked politics which is why it's so frustrating," they added.

According to the friend, Robinson was quiet but well liked, from a supportive family, and his Discord friends were mostly into video games rather than political activism.

“The friend group who he interacted with on Discord, far from some kind of militia camp or Antifa bunker it’s been portrayed as, represented a range of different political views but mostly talked video games," Klippenstein wrote.

FBI Director Kash Patel has said that Robinson “subscribed to left‑wing ideology,” citing statements from his family. But Robinson’s friends say his family — who, according to Robinson's grandmother, is staunchly Republican — didn’t fully understand him.

“Their ideas are based on someone they didn't fully understand,” the friend said.

The family, they say, seemed unaware of his relationship with a transgender person named Lance.

“I don't think even Tyler knew the answer to that question, which is why he kept it so low key between themselves,” the friend said when asked whether his family would have accepted that relationship.

Robinson was, according to the friend, bisexual, and held “openness on LGBT issues.”

But politically, he did not align cleanly with conventional labels. “Obviously he's okay with gay and trans people having a right to exist, but also believes in the Second Amendment,” the friend said, referring to his support for gun rights among other views.

Beyond politics, friends described Robinson as someone whose interests were ordinary: outdoors, fishing, camping, playing video games.

“To all of us he just seemed like a simple guy who liked playing games like Sea of Thieves, Deep Rock Galactic and Helldivers 2, loved to fish and loved to camp,” the friend said.

“It really did seem like that’s all he was about.”

The journalist noted that review of Robinson’s Discord posts showed very few mentions of political figures. A search for posts containing “Biden” or “Trump” yielded just one of each.

The “Trump” mention referred to the 2019 impeachment inquiry; the “Biden” appearance was on Election Day 2020, a comment about vote counting, per the article.

Robinson’s friend described him as “a really smart guy but super hard to read, stone cold poker face and you could always never be confident assuming anything.”

But despite being reserved, he was not isolated. “Everyone who knew him liked him and he was always nice, a little quiet and kept to himself mostly but wasn't a recluse,” the friend said.

Klippenstein claimed in the article that no one in the Discord group justified Kirk's murder. "What I see is a bunch of young people shocked, horrified and searching for answers, like the rest of the country," he wrote.

Earlier on Tuesday, prosecutors in Utah formally charged Robinson on seven counts, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and one count of commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced that they will seek the death penalty in this case.

Authorities allege that Robinson shot Kirk last Wednesday from a rooftop with a bolt‑action rifle, then attempted to cover up the crime.

Among the evidence are DNA found on the rifle trigger, a note written before the shooting that said “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it,” messages and a confession to his partner/roommate, and instructions to delete incriminating messages.

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