Suspect in assassination of Charlie Kirk charged with aggravated murder
Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder and weapon and obstruction charges (Utah Governorâs Office via AP)
The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been charged with aggravated murder.
The charge means Tyler Robinson, 22, could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Mr Kirk last week.
Announcing the charges, Utah County attorney Jeff Gray said: âThe murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy.â
Mr Kirk was gunned down on September 10 as he spoke to students at Utah Valley University and died soon after.
Prosecutors allege Robinson shot Mr Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby campus building.
A Utah Valley University police officer was watching the university campus crowd from an âelevated positionâ and identified the roof of the Losee Centre as a potential position for a gunman, Mr Gray said.
The officer found evidence on the roof immediately, he said, and spurred officers to direct their attention to surveillance video leading to the roof.
Mr Gray said Robinsonâs DNA was found on the trigger of the rifle. He said Robinson discarded the rifle and clothing and asked his roommate to conceal evidence.
Robinson left a note under a keyboard saying he planned to kill Kirk and confessed after the shooting, documents show.
Robinson was also charged with felony discharge of a firearm, punishable by up to life in prison, and obstructing justice, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear on camera for a virtual court hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
It was unclear whether Robinson had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
Robinson appears to have stayed in the area after shooting Mr Kirk and ditching his rifle, authorities said.
In a text exchange with his roommate released by authorities, Robinson allegedly wrote: âI had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. Its quiet, almost enough to get out, but theres one vehicle lingering.â
Then he allegedly wrote: âGoing to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I havenât seen anything about them finding it.â
And after that, he is said to have sent: âI can get close to it but there is a squad car parked right by it. I think they already swept that spot, but I donât wanna chance it.â
The texts shared in court documents do not have timestamps.
Robinson was arrested late Thursday near St George, the southern Utah community where he grew up.
Investigators have spoken to Robinsonâs relatives and carried out a search warrant at his familyâs home in Washington, Utah, about 240 miles south-west of where the shooting happened.
Mr Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics, became a confidant of US President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the nationâs largest political organisations.
He brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics. His shooting raised fears about increasing political violence in a deeply polarised United States.
While authorities say Robinson has not been co-operating with investigators, they say his family and friends have been talking.
Utah governor Spencer Cox said over the weekend that those who know Robinson say his politics shifted left in recent years and he spent a lot of time in the âdark corners of the internetâ.
FBI director Kash Patel said on Monday on the Fox News Channel show Fox & Friends that DNA evidence has linked Robinson to a towel wrapped around a rifle found near the Utah Valley campus and a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired.
The FBI also is looking at âanyone and everyoneâ who was involved in a gaming chatroom on the social media platform Discord with Robinson, Mr Patel said on Tuesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington. The chatroom involved âa lot moreâ than 20 people, he said.
âWe are investigating Charlieâs assassination fully and completely and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence,â Mr Patel said in response to a question about whether the shooting of Mr Kirk was being treated as part of a broader trend of violence against religious groups.
Investigators are working on finding a motive for the attack, Utahâs governor said on Sunday, adding that more information may come out once Robinson appears for his initial court hearing.
Mr Cox said Robinsonâs romantic partner was transgender, which some politicians have pointed to as a sign the suspect was targeting Mr Kirk for his anti-transgender views. But authorities have not said whether that played a role. Mr Kirk was shot while taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.
Mr Gray declined to answer a question about whether transgender issues played a role in the motive behind Mr Kirkâs shooting. He pointed to the charging documents, saying they summed up those points.
The charges filed on Tuesday carry two enhancements including committing several of the crimes in front of or close to children and carrying out violence based on the subjectâs political beliefs.
Mr Gray declined to say whether Robinsonâs roommate could face charges or whether anyone else might face charges. He also declined to say whether Robinson was co-operating or whether his parents or roommate had continued to co-operate.
In the days since Mr Kirkâs assassination, Americans have found themselves facing questions about rising political violence, the deep divisions that brought the nation here and whether anything can change.
