On Tuesday, the Utah County District Attorney’s Office announced it filed charges against the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray shared the charges against Tyler Robinson in a news conference on Tuesday.
Gray announced he filed seven charges against Robinson, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and one count of commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. Gray also said his office will seek the death penalty, a decision Gray said he made on his own.
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Robinson will be held without bail until trial. He will make his first court appearance virtually late Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities accused Robinson of killing Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University. He was taken into custody on Friday, Sept. 12, following a nearly two-day manhunt, and has since been held without bail.
The investigation so far
During the press release on Tuesday, Gray released new details in the investigation. Robinson’s mother called him to ask where he was during the shooting after authorities released images that she believed were of her son. He told his mom he was at home sick. Robinson’s mother also told her husband, Robinson’s father, that the photos reminded her of their son — he agreed.
Gray said the bullet that hit Kirk nearly hit several people in the crowd, including the person debating Kirk at the time he was shot.
Since Robinson’s arrest, officials said he has not been cooperating, but people who knew him have provided information.
While a clear motive has not been revealed, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said there were multiple warning signs leading to the incident.
“There were people in his network, friends and family, who had stated that he had become more political … leading us to believe that this ideology had infected him and had taken over,” Bongino said.
FBI Director Kash Patel also told Fox News that Robinson left behind a written note stating his intent to kill Kirk. Patel said the note was written before the shooting and read, “I have the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m gonna take it.” Gray confirmed those details in the press conference, saying the note was left under Robinson’s keyboard and found by his roommate and romantic partner.
There has been speculation regarding the motive, especially after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox made comments about Robinson’s romantic partner being transgender. Some have pointed to this as a sign that the suspect was targeting Kirk for his anti-transgender views.
According to the documents, Robinson had told his parents that Kirk “spreads too much hate” and that “there’s too much evil in the guy,” referring to Kirk.
Following the shooting, Gray said Robinson had texted his roommate saying he was responsible. Robinson’s roommate had asked him in a text message why he did it. “I had enough of his [Kirk] hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Robinson responded, according to Gray.
During that same text exchange, Robinson said the rifle was his grandfather’s and that he tried to retrieve it before police found it, according to the documents.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Kirk, who lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife and children, was a big figure in conservative media. He was one of Trump’s close allies, and not just the founder but also the CEO of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics in high schools and colleges.
He co-founded the nonprofit in 2012, when he was 18. It now has groups in more than 850 colleges.
At the time of his death, Kirk was kicking off a multi-campus Turning Point tour in which he asked attendees to debate him on certain issues.
