Bullet used to kill Charlie Kirk did NOT match rifle allegedly used by suspect Tyler Robinson, new court filing claims

[usonian]

Last edited Mon Mar 30, 2026, 11:26 PM - Edit history (1)

From The Daily Mail but likely to be true.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15692625/Tyler-Robinson-bullet-rifle-match-Charlie-Kirk.html

The bullet that killed conservative commentator Charlie Kirk did not match the rifle used by suspected killer Tyler Robinson, a bombshell new court filing states.

snip

... His defense attorneys now argue that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 'was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr Robinson.'

The defense team may now offer the ATF firearm analyst's testimony as exculpatory evidence, they said in a motion filed on Friday to push the preliminary hearing back at least six months, Fox News reports.

It also notes that DNA reports filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and ATF will take time for the defense team to analyze because reports indicated that several different DNA were found on some items of evidence.

Checking satellites for evidence of a grassy knoll.

No link at the Daily Mail to more, but others may. MSN syndicated the story.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/bullet-used-to-kill-charlie-kirk-did-not-match-rifle-allegedly-used-by-suspect-tyler-robinson/ar-AA1ZLsle

Edit to add. I did not intend to promote conspiracy theories, only to say REPUBLICANS IN DISARRAY.
Let them tear each other apart (verbally, of course.)

I looked for independent sources. So far, everyone is just copying the DailyMail, so Caveat Reader.
A search for corroboration!! Unfortunately, it has only been found so far at.
• Hindustan Times
• EndTimeHeadlines
• https://the.democraticunderground.org/100221135837 (so DU has another name? )
• FreeRepubic FREEPERS (this is interesting) Little did I know, they are HQ in Fresno. Yuck.,

I put the discussion so far up on pastebin, so you don't have to go there.
https://pastebin.com/raw/ZUKWyWmc
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! EACH OTHER!

[rzemanfl]

1. I thought this was fishy from the start. n/t

[EdmondDantes_]

2. Defense lawyer claims client is innocent

I'll wait for independent evidence or for the trial before assuming that this is 100% true.

[Ocelot II]

3. Is there a grassy knoll around somewhere?

[dweller]

4. Patsy

shocked shocked she said

😐


✌🏻

[Lovie777]

5. This was a professional hit......................

will we ever learn the truth.

[blue-wave]

29. Yup, it certainly was

No doubt about it. Who is really behind it?

[BootinUp]

6. This is your brain on conspiracy theories. nt

[stopdiggin]

11. Thank you !

Lord love a duck !
Are our brains really that far up our butts .. ?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[BootinUp]

13. People still don't believe the Warren commission even after the shooting

recreations and computer simulations and all the other evidence against Oswald (and lack of any evidence to the contrary). But I have no patience to argue with "believers" anymore, bring the facts or leave me be.

[stopdiggin]

18. there is no end to the lunacy that the 'conspiracy brain' will gobble up .... - - - - -(nt)-

[blue-wave]

59. So by saying "lunacy"

you are saying the bullet that was shot from this gun really did kill Charlie Kirk? And you are calling others conspiracy theorists? The science of ballistics don't match in this case. You don't believe in Ballistics testing?

[SergeStorms]

62. When I see evidence.....

of this from a much more reliable source than The Daily Mail, then I might become a believer.

[stopdiggin]

72. this lab 'finding' does NOT say that the bullet did not come from the indicated gun

merely that it could not be conclusively 'matched' to that gun. (as many fired rounds are not capable of being - and as forensic scientists and prosecutors will be very quick to point out to a jury) And the fact that so many people (up and down this thread, and elsewhere ) are not capable of this rather basic level of understanding and reason ... Is a major factor in why 'schlock reporting' and conspiracy nonsense runs rampant in our current social milieu.

The evidence for this man having committed the crime is - both abundant, and near to overwhelming.

But, play your little 'shadow government conspiracies' and 'police can't be trusted' games if you wish. It's just that it would play out so much better - if you would chose a target that was even marginally tenable/believable. And this one clearly is not.

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[everyonematters]

27. Numerous people in the operating at the hospital saw that the back of Kennedy's head was blown off.

That means he was shot from the front.

[Trueblue Texan]

43. you could see after he was shot Jackie trying to climb out the back of the convertible, as if chasing his head.

He had to have been shot from the front.

[blue-wave]

58. So we are supposed believe that

the bullet that hit Kennedy traveled sideways, went upside down, turned around and hit Connally then did another u-turn and then hit Kennedy?

That's not really the path the bullet traveled but I think you get the point. One bullet traveled a very convoluted path and struck two men? Really. And you think those who don't believe the "official" story are the conspiracy theorists?

We will never know the truth.

[BootinUp]

63. .

https://www.democraticunderground.com/12317118

[Rafi]

76. The facts are that the House assassinations Committe found there was a conspiracy.

That was post Warren Commission.

[BootinUp]

78. Based on a faulty analysis of the audio. Throw that 2nd finding in the trash. nt

[underpants]

21. Oh Lawd, there's a budding cottage industry of conspiracy theories on the RW alone.

He took the shot. He had a good rifle to do it and he had a lot of experience with guns.

The angle does seem odd to me.

The DNA thing could mean that anyone from him to his grandfather to his roommate touched then. There was open discussion in card games about killing somebody?

He was definitely a Groyper - devotee of Nick Fuentes - and those were warring factions.

[Jack Valentino]

41. I WISH somebody ELSE had had a 'good rifle'----

Elmer Fudd! I hate Bugs Bunny!



(ok, I'm lying about the part about hating Bugs Bunny)

[yaesu]

7. Like the tRump fake assasination attempt that went wrong I have no doubt. nt

[stopdiggin]

8. a very neat trick - given that the shooter TOLD other people that he did it

Last edited Wed Apr 1, 2026, 12:21 AM - Edit history (1)

with his own family turning him in for the deed.

[Blue_Roses]

9. Why did they pin the murder

on this suspect? Did someone see him do it? Did he confess?

[stopdiggin]

16. He - a) confessed to roommate - b) stashed a rifle easily identified as belonging to him/family in nearby bushes

while fleeing the building used - c) was turned in by his own family members (after confessing to them ?)
Shall we go on .. ?

[Blue_Roses]

20. Weird

nt

[RockRaven]

10. Oh boy...

All of a sudden these prosecutors will be a lot less interested in or respectful of the scientism offered by forensic experts' testimony than they were a few months ago.

Funny how that works.

[Prairie Gates]

12. When ATF or some other forensic lab can't definitely match a bullet, they say so

The defense will always say that that means it wasn't a bullet from the gun, while the prosecution will say that the bullet was simply too damaged.

Not being able to match a bullet to a gun is not the same as ruling out the gun as the source of the bullet.

[Straw Man]

15. Exactly right.

Not being able to match a bullet to a gun is not the same as ruling out the gun as the source of the bullet.

That's it in a nutshell.

[dgauss]

17. I did notice that the defense didn't say that the ATF

"ruled out" the possibility that the bullet came from that gun. That would be a little more convincing.

[rpannier]

30. I haven't followed the story much

My understanding is the round may have struck something Kirk was wearing and it ricocchet up. If that was true, whatever it hit would have been powerful enough to absorb the impact and force the round up. So whatever it struck would have damaged the round.
For me, Charlie Kirk is gone. That's where the story begins and ends

[Aussie105]

35. And so gentle readers, another conspiracy is born . . .

Facts and logic have no defense against those who thrive on conspiracy theories.

[OAITW r.2.0]

14. Nope. Not a rabbit hole I'm going doen. Not for this guy.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

19. Hard to tell whether the defense is saying the bullet doesn't match the caliber of the rifle, or if it's pushing what

more courts are recognizing, which is that firearms forensics is increasingly seen as inaccurate and unreliable.

[Prairie Gates]

23. One of the many "marks matching" forensic "sciences" that is of dubious reliability

We got sold a bill of goods on this stuff from the 1960s to the 2000s.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

25. Yep. Bite ID, blood spatter, fingerprints...whatever it takes to keep the PIC running.

[RockRaven]

26. Fire/burn/accelerant marks. Polygraphs.

There is so, so much bunk which has been used to wrongfully convict people.

[Johnny2X2X]

33. Carpet and fabric fibers

Notoriously bad evidence.

[Prairie Gates]

52. "Tool marks" and other nonsense pseudoscience

Truly, we've created a whole industry of Kid Detective forensics that sends people to prison. It's incredible.

[Bluetus]

77. I believe the lawyer is purposely being deceptive

They did not say the calibre was a mismatch.
They did not say the bullet could not have come from that gun.

They simply said that the lab test was inconclusive. That often happens when the bullet hits a bone or other hard object.

I doubt the prosecution relies on this match anyway.

[Renew Deal]

22. It's a defense claim

But it would be notable if it was impossible for the bullet to work with the gun.

Multiple DNA is probably law enforcement contamination.

The conspiracy people including Candace Owens will go wild with this info

[NickB79]

28. My guess is that the bullet hit something hard after passing thru Kirk's neck

A concrete wall, for example.

And then the bullet mushroomed and/or fragmented, making positive ID impossible.

[Mariana]

68. The story says "... the bullet recovered at autopsy..."

[NickB79]

81. Wherever it was recovered, it wasn't anywhere in his body

He was hit by a .30-06, a powerful cartridge well known to punch through both sides of a white tail deer when shot broadside. The blood seen spurting out of his neck was the exit wound.

[IronLionZion]

31. The only evidence we should care about are vague engravings on bullets

[33taw]

32. Trump wanted this to be federal case. Wonder why?

[Joinfortmill]

34. Wow. More questions than answers.

[Aussie105]

36. What questions?

Someone fired a gun.
A bullet hit its intended target.
Target died.

Simple!

[Joinfortmill]

50. Amazing deduction.

[sarisataka]

37. How do we know he is dead?

It could have been done with a squib, the gun loaded with blanks and they planted a bullet to make it look like he was shot
The shooter was paid to confess and promised the case would get tossed.
Kirk is in hiding somewhere

If we are going with crazy theories, let's go all-in

[Danascot]

49. Crazy theories? Let's go!

It was Erika Kirk.

If you were married to Charlie Kirk what would you do?

[EdmondDantes_]

69. Depends, is my next option to almost make out with JD Vance?

Because that's not an improvement in my circumstances.

[NH Ethylene]

70. If you saw the video before it was taken down,

This was no trickle of blood like Trump's ear. Nobody can survive with their blood being pumped out like a firehose.

[sarisataka]

73. I did see it and personally have no doubts

He is dead and the killer is in custody with the gun he used.

But since it's CT week apparently, I'm looking at other possibilities.
Like did they test the blood? It could have been a really big squib...

[MrChuck]

38. COLOR. ME. SHOCKED.

This entire fiasco from Butler PA to Charlie Kirk's murder has been completely fabricated.

[Initech]

56. My theory that Erika had something to do with it still stands.

I mean no one has profited more handsomely from his death than she has with all the TV appearances, speaking gigs, book deals, and Fox News interviews.

[Kaleva]

39. Probably means bullet was too damaged to be able to match it to the rifle

Unable to match the bullet to the gun does not mean recovered bullet was not fired from the rifle in question.

[Ilikepurple]

44. A nice, sensible response to this new evidence.

I’m glad someone responded to this seemingly non-exculpatory evidence without the need to browbeat OP for considering possibilities. I like most others have no firsthand knowledge of this case and am not exactly trusting of either our FBI or DOJ, but still think it’s unlikely he’s the shooter. I’m not fond of conspiracy theories but without them conspiracies would never be discovered. I’m surprised at the number of people who think everyone should share the same epistemic standards, especially when they don’t fully understand their own.

[Unrepentant Fenian]

40. Good!

[C Moon]

42. Shocking.

[onenote]

45. is there a link to the court filing?

[usonian]

46. I've been looking, and everything points back to the DailyMail.

But I am no good at searching court filings unless they show up in general search.

I put a caveat into the OP.

It looks like a lot of outlets, not just the usual right wing sites, have picked it up.

That doesn't instill much trust. Who is checking?

[Quiet Em]

48. Below is a link to CBS news

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlie-kirks-tyler-robinson-lawyers-question-bullet-rifle-link/

[Johnny2X2X]

51. Lawyer being a lawyer

He's just bringing into question ballistics evidence. Bullet too damaged to say what gun it came from. Mostly meaningless when you have a shooter who confessed. Now if the caliber was different, we'd have a big story.

I still think that's a really hard shot for anyone to make. Not hitting a target at 200 yards, but hitting a person at 200 yards, two totally different things.

[Historic NY]

53. It was a fragment

I don't know if they recovered more unspent rounds with the weapon. Further analysis can id the metallic composition characteristics.


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/31/charlie-kirk-bullet-rifle]

[BaronChocula]

60. Ahhh, cooler heads

Thank you.
Not being able to match a bullet to a weapon doesn't mean the bullet is excluded. their findings can just be inconclusive. Full disclosure, I didn't read any follow up beyond "unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr Robinson..." I'm just not that concerned.

[allegorical oracle]

54. That's a rough row to hoe given that the suspect confessed the murder to

his father. Seems like lawyers creating doubt to a) stall for time and b) potentially taint a jury pool.

[Initech]

55. Uh oh, this is going to disrupt Fox News' narrative.

[idahoblue]

57. It was an inside job.

There has never been a merrier widow than Erika, the merriest widow ever.

[Iggo]

61. I actually hope it doesn't match.

Other than KIRK’s kids, I don’t give a fuck about any of these people.

Can’t wait for Hair-On-Fire-Palooza.

[lostnfound]

64. Hindustan Times seems to be a go-to for planted narratives

They were the very first to mention Tyler Robinson’s trans roommate.

I’ve seen other narratives arrive there before everyone else.

[usonian]

65. I'd pull the OP in an instant if someone refuted it, but none so far.

USA Today claims to have additional information

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/03/31/tyler-robinson-link-charlie-kirk-bullet-match/89399761007/

I think the basic story stands, despite the early repeaters of the DailyMail story.

[Kaleva]

71. The body of the article itself refutes the title of the OP

The text of the article does not say that the bullet doesn’t match the rifle. It says they have been unable to match it which is different. The bullet may be so damaged as to prevent it being matched to any gun

Edit: I did find this Forbes article

“Federal firearms experts haven’t been able to conclusively match bullet fragments from the killing of Charlie Kirk to the rifle found at the scene of his murder, court documents indicate—but there’s also no evidence to suggest it’s not a match, despite online conspiracy theorists misusing the information to fuel wild theories about the murder.“

If true, the defense is going to have a very hard time convincing a jury that the bullet fragments did not come from the rifle in question especially when taking in all the other evidence against the accused.

[Hassler]

66. With Ca$h, Blondi and Juice Box Jeanine involved

What are the odds they screwed up?

[LiberalLovinLug]

67. I wouldn't put it past them to have set up the Trump ear shot, and the Kirk one

By first recruiting potential patsies, egging on in social media. Then making sure they get on a roof without being seen. Then either switch to blanks or f with their sites.

Then they also have their own marksman somewhere else, who shoots exactly where they want it. And for Trump, it was a careful shot close that set off a blood bag so he could claim injury as well. Perhaps the shooter whom they shot was the one who hit the person in the crowd.

Yes, this is all a conspiracy theory. But with this regime, I think they'll do anything to retain power.

[struggle4progress]

74. So does this mean Charlie Kirk was not killed -- or does it mean he was only an AI deep fake who never existed?

[usonian]

75. My money's on two strong candidates.

Last edited Tue Mar 31, 2026, 09:58 PM - Edit history (1)

1. It's all a simulation.

2. Just one of countless parallel universes.

I keep these in mind as I go to put dishes in the dishwasher.

One thing keeps hope alive for me.

In one of those countless parallel universes, Trump gets his due, in the stew.

[struggle4progress]

79. That is a reassuring thought!

[Pisces]

80. This is an attorney tactic to try and get his client off. There is video of him on the roof and jumping from

the roof.