Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man accused of killing political activist Charlie Kirk with a single shot at Utah Valley University, officials announced Tuesday.
“I do not take this decision lightly,” said Utah County Atty. Jeffrey Gray during a news conference. “It’s a decision I made independently as county attorney.”
Robinson has been charged with seven counts, Gray said, including one count of aggravated murder and two counts of obstruction of justice, for allegedly hiding the rifle used in the killing and disposing of his clothes.
Robinson is also facing two counts of witness tampering after he allegedly instructed his roommate to delete incriminating texts, and asking them not to talk to investigators if they were questioned by authorities.
In a news conference Tuesday, Gray detailed how Robinson’s parents first came to suspect that their son may have been the shooter after images from the university were publicly released. Gray also provided details of a text exchange between Robinson and his roommate, a person transitioning to female with whom he was romantically involved, in which Robinson apparently confessed to the killing.
According to the exchange read by Gray, Robinson’s partner appeared to have no knowledge that Robinson had taken a rifle and had planned the shooting for about a week.
“You weren’t the one who did it, right?” the roommate texted Robinson after the shooting, according to Gray.
“I am. I’m sorry,” Robinson responded, according to Gray.
While local and federal officials searched for the gunman, Gray said, Robinson allegedly texted his partner, explaining his decision to kill Kirk.
“Why?” his partner, who was not identified by Gray, texted Robinson.
“Why did I do it?” Robinson responded.
“Yeah,” the roommate replied, according to Gray.
“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson allegedly replied. “Some hate can’t be negotiated.”
Kirk, 31, was an influential figure in conservative and right-wing circles, winning praise for his views on heated topics, including abortion, immigration and gender identity.
His death by a single gunshot during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University last week shocked the nation and has led to vigorous debate over the motivations of his accused killer.
In his first court hearing Tuesday, Robinson appeared before Judge Tony Graf wearing what appeared to be an anti-suicide smock.
Appearing via video feed from Utah County jail, Robinson stared ahead at the camera and spoke only when the judge asked him to state his name.
During the hearing, Graf found Robinson to be “indigent” and for an attorney to be assigned for his defense.
Graf ordered Robinson held without bail until his next hearing on Sept. 29.
The FBI said it collected a screwdriver containing Robinson’s DNA on the rooftop of a building at Utah Valley University and a firearm wrapped in a towel that had been discarded in a nearby wooded area. The towel also had Robinson’s DNA on it, FBI Director Kash Patel said, adding that the firearm was still being processed for forensic evidence.
During the Tuesday news conference, Gray referred to Kirk’s killing as an “American tragedy.”
“Like all murders, the senseless and needless taking of Charlie Kirk’s life has shattered the lives of those he left,” Gray said.
Gray said authorities were led to Robinson by his parents, including his mother who first recognized him from pictures that were released to the public of the suspected shooter. She then showed the images to her husband, who agreed the person looked like their son, according to Gray.
Robinson’s mother told investigators that in the last year, her son had “become more political and had started to lean more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” Gray said.
“She stated that Robinson had begun to date his roommate,” he said.
Robinson had also spoken to his parents about Kirk visiting the Utah campus, and had accused Kirk of “spreading hate,” Gray said.
The rifle, Gray said, had apparently been given to Robinson by his father as a gift. Suspicious that his son was involved in the shooting, his father asked Robinson to send a picture of the rifle, but his son didn’t reply, according to Gray.
When his parents confronted him, Robinson admitted to the killing and said he was thinking of killing himself, Gray said.
“Robinson implied he was the shooter and didn’t want to go to jail,” Gray said. “When asked why he did it, Robinson explained, ‘There’s too much evil, and the guy,’ referring to Kirk, ‘spreads too much hate.’”
Gray also said the ammunition that was fired was engraved by the suspect.
The text messages, which were turned over to investigators by his roommate, reveal Robinson had done the engraving as a “big meme.”
Investigators retrieved four cartridges, Gray said, including the spent round that was fired at Kirk. That casing, he said, was engraved with “Notices bulge owo what’s this?”
A second was engraved with “Hey fascist catch” and a third with “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao.” The fourth was inscribed with “If you read this you are gay lmao.”
“If I see ‘notice bulge owo’ on Fox new[s] I might have a stroke,” Robinson texted his roommate, according to Gray.
As Robinson was set to appear in court for the first time, Patel appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where he faced harsh questioning and criticism over his handling of the agency and the immediate investigation into Kirk’s killing.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, accused Patel of releasing incorrect information about the shooting in order to take credit for the arrest.
“Director Patel again sparked mass confusion by incorrectly claiming on social media that the shooter was in custody — which he then had to walk back with another social media post,” Durbin said in his opening remarks Tuesday. “Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk’s assassin that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement: at critical stages of an investigation, shut up and let the professionals do their job.”
But Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) defended Patel’s handling of the Kirk probe.
“I’ve seen no reason for the armchair quarterbacks to be criticizing his performance,” Cornyn said. “I mean, it took roughly 33 hours to arrest the killer. And you know, there’s always a certain fog that goes along with emergency situations like this. So I know initially they thought they had their man, but turned out not.”
During the hearing, Patel said investigators had interviewed numerous people tied to Robinson, including relatives, friends and his partner.
Patel confirmed Robinson’s partner was transitioning from male to female.
He added that the reasoning behind the engravings on the shell casings is still under investigation.
Officials are still examining whether “anyone was involved as an accomplice.”
Agents are also interviewing people who interacted with the suspect online, Patel said.
That includes a Discord chat that seems to have involved more than 20 people moments after the shooting.
“We’re running them all down,” Patel said.
The FBI, he said, is “going to be investigating anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat.”
