A bullet fragment found lodged in Charlie Kirk’s body showed signs of it could have been fired from suspect Tyler Robinson’s rifle, newly unsealed court documents showed.
It’s the latest blow to conspiracy theories that have dogged the conservative activist’s killing.
That fragment was found to be a .30-caliber “deformed/damaged bullet jacket fragment” according to a report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) submitted to a Utah court in January and unsealed Wednesday.
The judge in the case against suspected Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson has unsealed the ATF ballistics report. Photo by Rick Egan-Pool/Getty ImagesAnd while it couldn’t be determined whether the bullet fragment was fired from Robinson’s gun, it matched the caliber of his .30-06 hunting rifle found near scene of Kirk’s September killing at Utah Valley University.
A spent .30-06 shell casing was also found with the rifle – which the ATF determined was fired from the gun.
The ATF found the bullet fragment found in Kirk “could not be identified or excluded as having been fired” from the gun — but the circumstantial evidence was enough to prompt Robinson’s defense to request no further bullet forensics be done without a defense expert from their team being present.
The gun allegedly used by Robinson to kill Kirk. Obtained by the NY PostThat’s what the newly unsealed January filing was seeking – but misinterpretations of a separate filing led to false claims that the bullet and rifle were found to not match, prompting a swirl of conspiracy theories about Kirk’s killing.
Kirk’s widow Erika has repeatedly advocated to keep all the court proceedings public to tamp down outrageous stories surrounding the murder.
Robinson, 22, is accused of gunning down the 31-year-old as he spoke to a crowd of more than 3,000 people in September as part of his conservative organization Turning Point USA.
Robinson allegedly shot and killed Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University in 2025. AP
The ATF report couldn’t conclusively match a bullet fragment to Robinson’s gun. Office of the Governor of Utah via Getty ImagesRobinson was arrested after two days on the run after his parents helped turn him in.
The rifle linked to him was found discarded in woods near the shooting, with security footage from the killing showing somebody jumping from a campus roof and fleeing after the fatal bullet was fired.
Kirk was shot in the neck as a horrified crowd looked on, and died as he was being rushed to a hospital.
Robinson faces possible death by firing squad if found guilty.
He is due in court on Friday for a hearing on his bid to keep the media from filming or photographing his court appearances.
Prosecutors declined to comment Thursday. Robinson’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
