Earlier this week, the Daily Mail published the following headline: “Bullet used to kill Charlie Kirk did NOT match rifle allegedly used by suspect Tyler Robinson, new court filing claims.”
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That may strike the casual reader as a significant finding and one that casts doubt on whether the authorities have apprehended the correct person. Connecting Robinson’s gun to the crime is obviously a key piece of evidence. If the bullet that killed Kirk came from some other gun, which is implied by this headline, then the conspiracy theories advanced by Candace Owens and others suddenly seem more plausible.
Right on cue, Owens shared the story, claiming vindication.
Where are all my neocons who have been “overwhelmed” by the non existent evidence against Tyler Robinson?
You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Hope the money was worth your soul. https://t.co/C88xGoigdR
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 31, 2026
Where to begin? This headline is woefully dishonest and clearly intended to generate massive numbers of clicks from gullible people. But the actual news is much less sensational: A report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives failed to match a recovered bullet fragment to the gun in Robinson’s possession. This is not all that noteworthy. The bullet that killed Kirk did not exit his body, rendering it “more of a fragment, not a round,” according to NewsNation’s Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI agent. In other words, it was not necessarily expected that the bullet fragment would match the weapon. A nonmatch signifies an inconclusive result, not that the bullet is provably from some other gun.
If this were the only piece of evidence against Robinson, I suppose I could understand why it might give people pause. But the case against Robinson is extremely solid because he confessed to his family and his roommate/lover. Indeed, the prosecution plans to call his father and ex-roommate to testify against him. The prosecution possesses text messages that Robinson sent to his roommate in which he explains in detail why and how he committed the murder. Robinson is entitled to the presumption of innocence and should have every opportunity to defend himself, but people who seriously doubt that he’s the killer are deluding themselves.
I’m aware that it’s no use arguing with Owens. But in theory, at least, the Daily Mail‘s editors should be capable of feeling shame over this.
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The Reason staff and I saw Project Hail Mary earlier this week: It was really good! I had no idea what to expect and was totally unspoiled. That’s definitely the right way to see it, so I won’t say much more about it.
