Prosecutors will search the loss of life penalty for Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man accused of killing political activist Charlie Kirk with a single shot at Utah Valley College, officers introduced Tuesday.
“I don’t take this determination flippantly,” stated Utah County Atty. Jeffrey Grey throughout a information convention. “It’s a call I made independently as county lawyer.”
Robinson has been charged with seven counts, Grey stated, together with one depend of aggravated homicide and two counts of obstruction of justice, for allegedly hiding the rifle used within the killing and disposing of his garments.
Robinson can be dealing with two counts of witness tampering after he allegedly instructed his roommate to delete incriminating texts, and asking them to not discuss to investigators in the event that they had been questioned by authorities.
In a information convention Tuesday, Grey detailed how Robinson’s dad and mom first got here to suspect that their son could have been the shooter after pictures from the college had been publicly launched. Grey additionally supplied particulars of a textual content change between Robinson and his roommate, an individual transitioning to feminine with whom he was romantically concerned, through which Robinson apparently confessed to the killing.
In keeping with the change learn by Grey, Robinson’s companion appeared to don’t have any information that Robinson had taken a rifle and had deliberate the capturing for a few week.
“You weren’t the one who did it, proper?” the roommate texted Robinson after the capturing, based on Grey.
“I’m. I’m sorry,” Robinson responded, based on Grey.
Whereas native and federal officers looked for the gunman, Grey stated, Robinson allegedly texted his companion, explaining his determination to kill Kirk.
“Why?” his companion, who was not recognized by Grey, texted Robinson.
“Why did I do it?” Robinson responded.
“Yeah,” the roommate replied, based on Grey.
“I had sufficient of his hatred,” Robinson allegedly replied. “Some hate can’t be negotiated.”
Kirk, 31, was an influential determine in conservative and right-wing circles, profitable reward for his views on heated matters, together with abortion, immigration and gender id.
His loss of life by a single gunshot throughout a talking engagement at Utah Valley College final week shocked the nation and has led to vigorous debate over the motivations of his accused killer.
In his first court docket listening to Tuesday, Robinson appeared earlier than Choose Tony Graf carrying what seemed to be an anti-suicide smock.
Showing through video feed from Utah County jail, Robinson stared forward on the digital camera and spoke solely when the choose requested him to state his title.
Throughout the listening to, Graf discovered Robinson to be “indigent” and for an lawyer to be assigned for his protection.
Graf ordered Robinson held with out bail till his subsequent listening to on Sept. 29.
The FBI stated it collected a screwdriver containing Robinson’s DNA on the rooftop of a constructing at Utah Valley College and a firearm wrapped in a towel that had been discarded in a close-by wooded space. The towel additionally had Robinson’s DNA on it, FBI Director Kash Patel stated, including that the firearm was nonetheless being processed for forensic proof.
Throughout the Tuesday information convention, Grey referred to Kirk’s killing as an “American tragedy.”
“Like all murders, the mindless and pointless taking of Charlie Kirk’s life has shattered the lives of these he left,” Grey stated.
Grey stated authorities had been led to Robinson by his dad and mom, together with his mom who first acknowledged him from photos that had been launched to the general public of the suspected shooter. She then confirmed the pictures to her husband, who agreed the individual seemed like their son, based on Grey.
Robinson’s mom instructed investigators that within the final yr, her son had “develop into extra political and had began to lean extra to the left, turning into extra pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” Grey stated.
“She said that Robinson had begun up to now his roommate,” he stated.
Robinson had additionally spoken to his dad and mom about Kirk visiting the Utah campus, and had accused Kirk of “spreading hate,” Grey stated.
The rifle, Grey stated, had apparently been given to Robinson by his father as a present. Suspicious that his son was concerned within the capturing, his father requested Robinson to ship an image of the rifle, however his son didn’t reply, based on Grey.
When his dad and mom confronted him, Robinson admitted to the killing and stated he was pondering of killing himself, Grey stated.
“Robinson implied he was the shooter and didn’t need to go to jail,” Grey stated. “When requested why he did it, Robinson defined, ‘There’s an excessive amount of evil, and the man,’ referring to Kirk, ‘spreads an excessive amount of hate.’”
Grey additionally stated the ammunition that was fired was engraved by the suspect.
The textual content messages, which had been turned over to investigators by his roommate, reveal Robinson had accomplished the engraving as a “huge meme.”
Investigators retrieved 4 cartridges, Grey stated, together with the spent spherical that was fired at Kirk. That casing, he stated, was engraved with “Notices bulge owo what’s this?”
A second was engraved with “Hey fascist catch” and a 3rd with “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao.” The fourth was inscribed with “In the event you learn this you’re homosexual lmao.”
“If I see ‘discover bulge owo’ on Fox new[s] I may need a stroke,” Robinson texted his roommate, based on Grey.
As Robinson was set to seem in court docket for the primary time, Patel appeared earlier than the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the place he confronted harsh questioning and criticism over his dealing with of the company and the quick investigation into Kirk’s killing.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the highest Democrat on the committee, accused Patel of releasing incorrect details about the capturing with the intention to take credit score for the arrest.
“Director Patel once more sparked mass confusion by incorrectly claiming on social media that the shooter was in custody — which he then needed to stroll again with one other social media put up,” Durbin stated in his opening remarks Tuesday. “Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit score for locating Mr. Kirk’s murderer that he violated one of many fundamentals of efficient legislation enforcement: at essential phases of an investigation, shut up and let the professionals do their job.”
However Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) defended Patel’s dealing with of the Kirk probe.
“I’ve seen no purpose for the armchair quarterbacks to be criticizing his efficiency,” Cornyn stated. “I imply, it took roughly 33 hours to arrest the killer. And you recognize, there’s at all times a sure fog that goes together with emergency conditions like this. So I do know initially they thought that they had their man, however turned out not.”
Throughout the listening to, Patel stated investigators had interviewed quite a few folks tied to Robinson, together with family members, pals and his companion.
Patel confirmed Robinson’s companion was transitioning from male to feminine.
He added that the reasoning behind the engravings on the shell casings remains to be beneath investigation.
Officers are nonetheless analyzing whether or not “anybody was concerned as an confederate.”
Brokers are additionally interviewing individuals who interacted with the suspect on-line, Patel stated.
That features a Discord chat that appears to have concerned greater than 20 folks moments after the capturing.
“We’re operating all of them down,” Patel stated.
The FBI, he stated, is “going to be investigating anybody and everybody concerned in that Discord chat.”
