The man charged with the murder of prominent conservative figure Charlie Kirk boasted about his success in an online word puzzle less than an hour before the fatal shooting, court documents and friends have revealed.
The Eerie Final Hours Before the Shooting
According to prosecutors, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson drove three hours from his home to the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem on September 10. As he made his way to the area where Kirk was due to speak, Robinson engaged in a seemingly mundane exchange on Discord. A friend told the Washington Post that, 55 minutes before gunshots rang out, Robinson sent a message bragging he had solved that day's Wordle puzzle in just three attempts.
The word was 'pouty'. Robinson shared his results alongside a celebratory meme. His friend, who admitted it took him five tries, replied with a meme of his own. This ordinary digital interaction now stands as a chilling marker in the timeline leading to Kirk's death.
A Facade of Normalcy and Radicalised Views
Friends of the accused have painted a contradictory picture of Robinson in the weeks before the attack. They described a young man who maintained a routine, regularly sharing Wordle scores and even offering a sympathetic ear to a friend dealing with a difficult living situation earlier that week. He attended an in-person party and played games online.
Yet, they also identified him as someone who had been radicalised by left-wing extremists. One friend stated, 'He loved his guns, he loved his beer, he hated the government. That's the impression that I got.' Robinson, who was registered to vote but unaffiliated with any party, would make drunken jokes about Republican politicians 'catching a bullet', but friends dismissed these as meaningless rants and saw no overt indication of impending violence.
Aftermath and the Fight for Courtroom Transparency
Prosecutors allege Robinson's actions continued after the shooting. 80 minutes after Kirk was shot, he reportedly messaged the same Wordle friend on Discord wanting to discuss the assassination. Later, on a voice call with two other friends where he sounded out of breath, he asked what they knew about the shooting and Kirk's condition. 'He got hit pretty bad,' Robinson told them, according to one friend's recollection. 'I'm pretty sure he's dead.'
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder, and prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. He made his first in-person court appearance last Thursday, shackled and smiling at his family. His legal team is pushing to limit media access, citing pretrial publicity amplified by comments from former President Donald Trump. Defence attorney Kathy Nester has raised concerns over digitally altered images of Robinson from court spreading misinformation.
In contrast, Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, has called for full transparency, stating, 'We deserve to have cameras in there.' She has also publicly forgiven Robinson for allegedly killing her husband. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for the week of May 18, with Robinson due back in court in January.
