In March 2026, a claim (archived) circulated online that, attorneys for Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Charlie Kirk's fatal shooting, said in a court filing that a report indicated 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."
Kirk was killed by a single shot during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025. The 31-year-old, who was a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was the co-founder and CEO of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA.
Utah prosecutors indicted Tyler James Robinson, then 22, on seven charges that included aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and tampering with a witness. Prosecutors alleged that Robinson used a Mauser Model 98 bolt action rifle to fatally shoot Kirk. Investigators found cartridge casings, including one that was spent, alongside an abandoned rifle they claimed Robinson used to kill Kirk.
One X user who shared the claim that the recovered bullet didn't match the rifle in March 2026 wrote:
BREAKING: MAJOR DEVELOPMENT – Charlie Kirk assassination case
New defense court filing drops a bombshell:
ATF firearm analyst was unable to match the bullet recovered from Kirk's body to the Mauser rifle allegedly tied to suspect Tyler Robinson.
If the fatal bullet doesn't link to the supposed murder weapon, this raises major questions about the prosecution's case.
The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Threads (archived), Reddit (archived) and Bluesky (archived). Snopes readers contacted us to ask about the claim.
In the court filing in question, Robinson's defense wrote (Page 22) that a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives report summary suggested the bureau "was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr. Robinson."
Given the above, we find that social media users correctly attributed the claim to Robinson's defense team.
A spokesperson from the ATF told Snopes via email the bureau did not comment on ongoing investigations. Without comment from the ATF, we could not independently confirm the contents of the bureau's report or whether Robinson's defense correctly represented them in the filing.
What the filing said
In the March 27 court filing, Robinson's defense mentioned the ATF's analysis as part of a broader request to delay a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 2026. The attorneys provided the ATF analysis as an example of material it had not received adequate time to review.
The filing argued (Page 22) that the defense might use the testimony of the ATF firearm analyst who carried out the bureau's analysis as exculpatory evidence, meaning it would attempt to clear Robinson of blame. In order to decide whether to do this, the defense said, it would need more information from the ATF and time to consult with its own experts.
The filing also claimed (Page 22) that the FBI was "in the process of conducting a second comparative bullet analysis, as well as a bullet lead analysis, but that these analyses are not yet complete." Snopes contacted the FBI to ask if it could confirm these claims. The bureau declined to comment.
Robinson's defense attorneys argued that they needed up to six months to review material they had not yet received, which also included DNA traces from Robinson's alleged gun. The defense team asked for the May 2026 hearing to be postponed by at least six months depending on when they received that material.
According to Utah court records, a hearing on whether the court would grant the request to postpone the May preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 17, 2026.
Preliminary hearings allow the prosecution to call witnesses and present evidence in a case in order for the judge to decide whether to schedule a trial. The hearing usually happens after a defendant enters a plea. Robinson had not entered a plea at the time of this writing, according to court records.
For further reading, Snopes has reported extensively on claims related to the shooting of Charlie Kirk.