Utah prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a 22-year-old man they accuse of assassinating conservative star Charlie Kirk last week as he spoke on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Tyler Robinson of St. George, Utah, appeared via video link in a Utah County court to face seven charges, among them aggravated murder, which is the state’s sole crime eligible for the death penalty.
Facing Judge Tony Graf and Utah County Chief Deputy Attorney Chad Grunander, Mr. Robinson wore a green anti-suicide vest that left his arms exposed.
He stated his name at the request of Judge Graf and occasionally nodded in response to the proceedings, but he remained silent and expressionless as the judge read the charges against him.
Judge Graf said a court-appointed attorney would be provided to Mr. Robinson, whom he ruled to be indigent. The judge also approved a pretrial protective order on behalf of Mr. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 29.
SEE ALSO: ‘Grampa’s rifle’ used in Charlie Kirk’s assassination
Before Mr. Robinson’s court appearance, Utah County Attorney Jeffrey S. Gray revealed at a press conference that authorities had gathered significant physical evidence against the college dropout who had enrolled in trade school. His mother told authorities her son had increasingly embraced left-wing ideology and had started dating his transgender roommate, a biological male who is not charged in the case.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Mr. Robinson’s online community, particularly a chat group on the Discord platform, is under investigation.
The people involved in the Discord chats with Mr. Robinson are now targets of the investigation into the killing, and the bureau has moved to gain access to the full chat to serve as leads.
“We’re also going to be investigating anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The evidence made public so far points only to Mr. Robinson.
Mr. Gray read aloud online messages Mr. Robinson exchanged with his transgender boyfriend after the Sept. 10 shooting in which he admitted to the crime and explained his motive for killing the right-wing firebrand: “I had enough of his hatred,” Mr. Robinson wrote. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
SEE ALSO: Dark online subculture emerges behind Charlie Kirk’s assassination
The charges were announced nearly a week after Mr. Kirk, 31, was gunned down as he gathered with thousands of students for a Q&A-style debate on the campus green.
In addition to aggravated murder, Mr. Robinson is charged with felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury. The aggravated murder and firearm charges were elevated in severity, Mr. Gray said, “because the defendant is believed to have targeted Charlie Kirk based on Charlie Kirk’s political expression, and did so knowing that children were present and would witness the homicide.”
Mr. Kirk was the co-founder and head of Turning Point USA, a conservative political organization that mobilized the youth vote that helped President Trump win the 2024 election.
In text exchanges between Mr. Robinson and his boyfriend, Lance Twiggs, 22, Mr. Robinson said he carried out the shooting with a rifle once owned by his grandfather and presented to him as a gift from his father.
The rifle is among the early images released by authorities that led his family to suspect him of the assassination.
The multiple messages carved into bullet casings recovered by authorities, which included references to the online subculture, antifa, LGBTQ ideology and furries subculture, are “mostly a big meme,” Mr. Robinson told his roommate in one text exchange.
Mr. Kirk was known for debating students on hot-button issues. He opposed transgender ideology, abortion and illegal immigration.
At the moment he was shot, a student was questioning Mr. Kirk about the conservative viewpoint that transgender people were responsible for many of the recent mass shootings.
Mr. Robinson, his text messages reveal, thought he might get away with it.
He planned to try to recover the rifle, which he had ditched in the woods after fleeing the rooftop from where prosecutors say he took the shot at Mr. Kirk.
“If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence,” he said.
Authorities reached the weapon first. They recovered DNA evidence on the body of the rifle and the trigger, as well as the towel found wrapped around it.
Mr. Robinson’s mother first recognized him in images distributed by the FBI, Mr. Gray said.
The family also recognized photos of the gun released by the FBI, identified as a Mauser bolt-action rifle that once belonged to Mr. Robinson’s grandfather.
Mr. Robinson’s father prodded his son to produce a photo of the rifle in the hours after the shooting, as their suspicions of his involvement increased.
The message exchange between Mr. Robinson and Mr. Twiggs indicated that Mr. Twiggs was not involved in planning the assassination and did not know anything about it.
He repeatedly asked Mr. Robinson whether he was serious about his admission of committing the killing.
“I am, I’m sorry,” Mr. Robinson responded. He had been planning the shooting for “a bit over a week,” he said.
Mr. Robinson, explaining to his boyfriend the memes he carved on the bullet casings, told Mr. Twiggs if he saw Fox News reading the “furries” subculture meme he left on one of the bullets, “I might have a stroke.”
He also told Mr. Twiggs, “Judging from today, I’d say grandpa’s gun does just fine. I don’t know. I think that was a $2k scope, wink wink.”
He told Mr. Twiggs to delete the exchange and, if contacted by police, to remain silent and get an attorney.
As his family closed in on Mr. Robinson, he at first answered texts and calls from his father, who had by then also recognized the rifle and his son in the FBI images.
“He’s calling me. Not answering,” Mr. Robinson said in a text to Mr. Twiggs.
Mr. Robinson eventually confessed to his father and told Mr. Twiggs he planned to surrender.
“Since Trump got into office, my dad has been pretty die-hard MAGA,” he texted Mr. Twiggs.
Prosecutors also charged Mr. Robinson with two counts of obstruction of justice for trying to hide the rifle and disposing of clothing after the shooting, and two counts of felony witness tampering for instructing his roommate not to talk to police and ordering him to destroy incriminating texts.
Mr. Robinson is also charged with a misdemeanor for committing a murder knowing children were present and may have heard or seen the shooting.
Utah is one of 27 states that allow the death penalty and one of five states that include the firing squad as a method of execution.
Utah has executed only two death row inmates since 2010. Four inmates are currently on death row, and they have spent an average of 34 years awaiting execution.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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