Utah state prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson, the man accused of fatally shooting the far right activist Charlie Kirk, on Tuesday with aggravated murder, meaning the 22-year-old could face the death penalty if convicted.
Jeff Gray, the top prosecutor in Utah county, said Robinson also ordered his roommate to delete incriminating text messages and stay silent if police questioned him in the aftermath of the Turning Point USA executive director’s killing on 10 September.
“I do not take this decision lightly,” Gray said. “And it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”
The exact charges filed against Robinson include aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and witness tampering. Aggravating circumstances elevating the charges to an offense deserving the death penalty were the 31-year-old “Kirk’s political expression” and the fact that children “were present” to witness the murder, Gray said.
Citing information provided to investigators by Robinson’s mother after his arrest in the killing, Gray made it a point to say that the suspect – whose family was known to be conservative – “had become more political and had started to lean more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and trans rights oriented”.
Gray said that Robinson’s mother also told investigators that her son had started “to date his roommate”, who, authorities say “was transitioning genders”.
The prosecutor alluded to how video of Kirk’s killing showed he was shot to death during an event at Utah Valley University (UVU), within seconds of making a remark that “too many” transgender people had committed mass shootings in the US. (In reality, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonpartisan non-profit group, only about 0.1% of such shootings over the previous decade had allegedly been carried out by trans people.)
Robinson was arrested the day after Kirk’s killing after those close to him recognized him in suspect photos released by authorities during a manhunt. Robinson surrendered with the help of a family friend, who was a law enforcement official.
Shortly before his surrender, Robinson appeared to take responsibility for fatally shooting Kirk in a message to friends on Discord, the chat platform has confirmed.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” a message from an account belonging to Robinson read hours before his arrest. “It was me at UVU yesterday. i’m sorry for all of this.”
FBI director Kash Patel had also previously revealed that DNA matching Robinson’s was found on a towel used to wrap the rifle believed to be used in the shooting and on a screwdriver found on the roof from which the single gunshot that killed Kirk was fired. The rifle was found near UVU after being discarded.
Other evidence tying Robinson to the killing include a text message from the suspect to his roommate that allegedly read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.” Gray alleged that Robinson’s roommate asked him at one point: “How long have you been planning this?” Gray said Robinson replied “a bit over a week”.
Gray said the roommate asked “why” Robinson did it. Robinson – referring to Kirk – allegedly replied: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out. If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence. Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven’t seen anything about them finding it.”
Gray claimed Robinson told him to delete their exchange and not to speak to authorities. The county prosecutor reiterated prior statements from authorities that the roommate cooperated with investigators.
Describing Kirk as a father of two children at the start of the news conference, Gray called his killing “an American tragedy”, arguing that he was “murdered while engaging in one of our most sacred and cherished … rights, the bedrock of our democratic republic: the free exchange of ideas in a search for truth, understanding and a more perfect union”.
Gray’s comments came amid a coordinated effort to get people all over the US either fired from or disciplined at their jobs for Kirk commentary deemed offensive by some.
Robinson will remain in custody without bail at the jail into which he was booked after his arrest because of his office’s intent to seek the death penalty against the suspect, Gray said.
Robinson was due to make an initial court appearance later on Tuesday.
