Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was charged on Tuesday with aggravated murder, a prosecutor announced, saying Robinson left behind his DNA on the trigger of the rifle that fired the fatal shot. The charge means Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Kirk last week at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 64 km south of Salt Lake City. “The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy,” Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said in announcing the charges.
Kirk was gunned down on Sept 10 as he spoke with students and died soon after. Prosecutors allege Robinson shot 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 “elevated position” and identified the roof of the Losee Centre as a potential position for a shooter, 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.
Gray 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 also was 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 was scheduled to appear on camera for a virtual court hearing Tuesday afternoon. It was unclear whether Robinson had an attorney who could speak on his behalf, and his family has declined to comment to The Associated Press.
Robinson appears to have stayed in the area after shooting Kirk and ditching his rifle, authorities said. In a text exchange with his roommate released by authorities, Robinson wrote, “I 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 there’s one vehicle lingering.” Then he wrote: “Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven’t seen anything about them finding it.” And after that, he sent: “I can get close to it but there is a squad car parked right by it.
I think they already swept that spot, but I don’t wanna chance it.” The texts shared in court documents do not have timestamps, and it’s unclear how long after the shooting Robinson was texting. Robinson was arrested late Thursday near St George, the southern Utah community where he grew up. Investigators have spoken to Robinson’s relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family’s home in Washington, Utah, about 390 km southwest of where the shooting happened. Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics, became a confidant of President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest political organisations.