Prosecutor to seek death penalty for Kirk shooting suspect
Utah prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty for Robinson.
Prosecutor to seek death penalty for Kirk shooting suspect
Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the killing of conservative US activist Charlie Kirk, appeared virtually on Tuesday for his first court hearing since his arrest.
Earlier, Utah prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for Robinson, as they cited evidence against him, including alleged text messages in which he appeared to confess to carrying out the assassination on September 10 during an event that Kirk was hosting at Utah Valley University (UVU).
“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson, 22, told his flatmate and romantic partner when asked why he had committed the murder, according to transcripts filed by prosecutors with the court. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” he added.
Here is what we know:
Prosecutors laid out extensive evidence against Robinson, much of it taken from his own communications with friends and family.
He also made his first court appearance on Tuesday in Provo, Utah, via a video feed from the county jail where he is being held. Robinson showed up unshaven and wearing what appeared to be a green suicide-prevention smock.
He showed no expression, but listened closely as the judge read the charges and warned he could face the death penalty. Robinson spoke only once, to state his name.
In court filings, prosecutors began to lay out the case against Robinson, who was at large for more than 30 hours before turning himself in.
The document also revealed text messages from Robinson to his flatmate, whom Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray described as “a biological male who was involved in a romantic relationship with Robinson”. Utah Governor Spencer Cox earlier described the flatmate as a person “transitioning from male to female”.
Gray said Robinson was charged with seven offences, including aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm.
Gray said he would seek the death penalty, citing the threat to others at the UVU event where Kirk was shot, especially children, in addition to Kirk’s killing.
The 10-page charging document filed by Utah officials contains details on the reasoning behind the charges against Robinson.
Here are the charges against Robinson:
The document added to previous details that authorities had made public about Robinson soon after his arrest, detailing how his family and flatmate had cooperated with investigators and played a key role in convincing the suspect to turn himself in.
Prosecutors said his mother told investigators that the day after the shooting, she saw a photo of the suspect on the news and thought it looked like her son.
“Robinson’s mother called her son and asked him where he was. He said he was at home sick… [She] expressed concern to her husband that the suspected shooter looked like him. Robinson’s father agreed,” the document said.
“His father also believed that the rifle that police suspected the shooter used matched a rifle that was given to his son as a gift.”
Robinson eventually spoke to his father on the phone and implied that he would kill himself, according to prosecutors. With the help of a family friend who is a retired deputy sheriff, his parents persuaded him to surrender to authorities.
Robinson’s mother said that over the last year or so, her son had become more political and leaned more to the left, “becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented”. Robinson “began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders”, his mother added.
On the day of the shooting, Robinson texted his flatmate and partner, the document said, telling them to “drop what you’re doing, look under my keyboard”.
When the flatmate looked under Robinson’s keyboard, they found a note.
The note read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
After reading the note, the flatmate texted Robinson back: “What????????????? You’re joking, right????”
Robinson also told his flatmate that the rifle he allegedly used belonged to his grandfather. He sent several messages about how he might retrieve it while police were searching for him in the hours after the shooting.
“I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle,” Robinson said in the messages, and appeared to consider whether it could be traced back to him.
“I might have to abandon it and hope they don’t find prints. how the f*** will I explain losing it to my old man?” he said, according to the documents.
The document said the police found the rifle near the scene, wrapped in a towel. The towel, the rifle and the ammunition were then sent for forensic testing.
“DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger, other parts of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing, two of the three unfired cartridges, and the towel,” the document said.
Each bullet in the rifle had a different message etched into its casing.
Robinson appeared to joke about the messages, the document said.
“Remember how I was engraving bullets?,” Robinson asked in the text messages to his flatmate. He then said that the “messages are mostly a big meme, if I see ‘notices bulge uwu’ on fox new[s] I might have a stroke”.
He also told his flatmate that he had been planning the attack on Kirk “for a bit over a week”. Robinson told the flatmate to “delete this exchange” and not to speak to police or the media.
Talking about his father, a registered Republican, Robinson said that “since trump got into office, [my dad] has been pretty diehard maga,” according to the transcript of his exchange with his partner. He was referring to MAGA, the “Make America Great Again” movement of US President Donald Trump, which has reshaped traditional Republican politics.
Another hearing will be held on September 29, at 10am (16:00 GMT).
Judge Tony Graf said a lawyer had to be appointed to represent Robinson, and that the second hearing would happen on WebEx.
Graf also stated that Robinson would remain in custody without bail.
