Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Kirk’s assassination, made comments on Discord to his online friends that suggested he killed the conservative activist, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing screenshots of the discussion and two sources familiar. After Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley noted that there was reporting that around 20 individuals were in a different Discord chat with Robinson, Patel asserted there were many more than 20 under investigation.
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“[U]nfortunately, it has been leaked that there was a Discord chat. And for those unfamiliar with it, it’s a gaming chat room online that the suspect participated in,” Patel said. “So what we’re doing, we’ve already done is sort of legal process, not just on Discord, so that the information we gathered is sustained and held in a evidentiary posture that we could use in prosecution should it be decided to do so. And we’re also going to be investigating anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat.”
Hawley asked if it was “fair to say” that the FBI was working to investigate the roughly 20 individuals in the chat that had been reported.
“It’s a lot more than that,” Patel said. “We’re running them all down.”
Hawley clarified that the FBI was investigating “a lot more than 20” users of the platform in relation to the assassination, which Patel confirmed.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” Robinson said on Discord hours before his arrest, according to the Post. “It was me at UVU yesterday. [I’m] sorry for all of this.”
Robinson reportedly informed members of the chat that he would be “surrendering through a sheriff friend” promptly and thanked the group for “all the good times and laughs,” according to the Post.
Discord distributed the chat messages to law enforcement to utilize in their case against Robinson, the outlet reported, citing a source familiar.
“During our investigation, Discord identified an account belonging to the suspect,” a Discord spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday. “We have not found or received any evidence that the suspect planned this incident on Discord or promoted violence on Discord.”
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