It was, Utah county prosecutor Jeffrey Gray said as he opened his address to reporters, “an American tragedy”.
The simple statement gave little indication of the extraordinary 45-minute press conference that was to follow as the veteran attorney laid out in detail how the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk was killed, and the text messages his alleged assassin sent in the aftermath of the murder.
Tyler Robinson, Gray told the packed yet silent briefing room, had become consumed by hate for Kirk and his politics. By his own admission, Gray said, Robinson had planned the murder “in a bit over a week” once he knew Kirk would be attending a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem last Wednesday.
He sent his roommate messages confessing to the crime, Gray added. Robinson said why he had done it and then begged the roommate, whom the prosecutor said had also become his lover, to stay silent and hire a lawyer if the police came calling.
It was, by any reasoning, a damning account, coming just hours before the first court appearance later on Tuesday of the 22-year-old Utah resident. Gray announced he was charging Robinson with aggravated murder, among other offenses, and would seek the death penalty.
In a pointed statement to indicate he had tuned out the furious rightwing backlash to the killing, and calls by Donald Trump and allies for “vengeance and retribution” for Kirk’s death, Gray said he alone was responsible for deciding upon the charges.
“The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy. I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently,” Gray said, somberly.
Gray read details from a 10-page information document, including that a gun belonging to Robinson’s grandfather was allegedly used in the killing, and that the relative wanted to know what had happened to it. The weapon was later found in a field close to the university wrapped in a towel.
But it is the lengthy text message exchanges with the roommate, “a biological male who was involved in a romantic relationship with Robinson”, according to Gray, that give remarkable new insight into the alleged killer’s motives and actions.
Gray said the exchanges took place on 10 September in the hours immediately following the shooting.
“The roommate received a text message from Robinson which said, ‘Drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard,’” Gray said. “The roommate looked under the keyboard and found a note that stated, ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it’.
“After reading the note, the roommate responded, ‘What? You’re joking, right?’”
Gray said the roommate, whom he described as “transitioning genders”, then received a message from Robinson, saying he was unable to leave the area of the incident because of police activity.
The prosecutor said the next text stated: “‘I am still ok my love, but am stuck in Orem for a little while longer yet. Shouldn’t be long until I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.’”
Gray continued: “Roommate: ‘You weren’t the one who did it right?’ Robinson: ‘I am, I’m sorry.’ Roommate: ‘I thought they caught the person?’ Robinson: ‘No, they grabbed some crazy old dude, then interrogated someone in similar clothing. I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down.’”
Earlier in the briefing, Gray said investigators had spoken to Robinson’s mother, who said her son had, over the last year “become more political and had started to lean more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and trans rights-oriented”.
He disclosed that the exchange with the roommate then began to explore a motive.
“Roommate: ‘Why?’ Robinson: ‘Why did I do it?’ Roommate: ‘Yeah.”’ Robinson: ‘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 said.
The bolt-action rifle, it turned out, had already been found in nearby woodland, wrapped in a towel, and with three unspent rounds with engravings on their casings.
“Hey Facist! [sic] Catch!” said one. “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!” said the second. “If you Read This, You Are GAY Lmao,” the third said, according to the charging document.
Robinson, Gray said, expressed in another message to his roommate that he was frightened of losing it.
“I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpa’s rifle … how the fuck will I explain losing it to my old man,” he wrote, according to Gray.
Gray’s account of Robinson’s arrest on 12 September, two days after the shooting, appeared at odds with FBI director Kash Patel’s insistence that he had been found by solid detective work.
It was, the prosecutor revealed, Robinson’s own mother who exposed him. In conversations with investigators, he said, she painted a picture of her son as an increasingly radicalized and isolated individual at odds with his family’s conservative leanings.
“The day after the shooting, Robinson’s mother saw the photo of the shooter in the news and thought the shooter looked like her son. Robinson’s mother called her son and asked him where he was,” Gray said.
“He said he was at home sick and that he had also been at home sick on September 10. Robinson’s mother expressed concern to her husband that the suspected shooter looked like Robinson. Robinson’s father agreed.
“Robinson’s mother explained that over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented.
“She stated that Robinson began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders. This resulted in several discussions with family members, but especially between Robinson and his father, who have very different political views.
“In one conversation before the shooting, Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk would be holding an event at UVU, which Robinson said was a ‘stupid venue’ for the event. Robinson accused Kirk of spreading hate.”
The rest of the text exchanges with the roommate, Gray claimed, were also incriminating. “Delete this exchange,” said one. In another, he said father wanted to see a photograph of the rifle, and had expressed support for Trump.
“Since Trump got into office [my dad] has been pretty diehard Maga [Make America Great Again],” he said.
Then he said he was “gonna turn myself in willingly, one of my neighbors here is a deputy for the sheriff”.
He signed off with concern for his roommate: “You are all I worry about love. Don’t talk to the media please. Don’t take any interviews or make any comments … if any police ask you questions ask for a lawyer and stay silent.”
Gray gave few more details as the press conference drew to a close. He stressed that everything he said were only accusations and recognized Kirk’s family.
“Like all murders, the senseless and needless taking of Charlie Kirk’s life has shattered the lives of those he loved and those who loved him,” he said.
The suspect made an initial court appearance later on Tuesday. In that hearing, Judge Tony Graf confirmed there would be a waiver hearing on 29 September at 10am GMT via Webex.
