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Utah prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old man accused of assassinating conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during a campus event at Utah Valley University on September 10.
Mr. Robinson appeared in Utah County court via video link wearing a green Kevlar vest, facing seven charges including aggravated murder, the only crime eligible for capital punishment in Utah. The shooting occurred as Mr. Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent conservative voice who helped mobilize youth votes for President Trump’s 2024 election victory, was conducting a Q&A session with thousands of students on the campus green.
At the moment of the shooting, a student was questioning Kirk about conservative views on transgender individuals and mass shootings. Mr. Robinson, a college dropout enrolled in trade school from St. George, Utah, allegedly used his grandfather’s Mauser bolt-action rifle to shoot Kirk from a rooftop position.
According to prosecutors, Mr. Robinson’s mother told authorities her son had increasingly embraced left-wing ideology and was dating his transgender roommate, Lance Twiggs. Text messages between Mr. Robinson and Twiggs revealed Mr. Robinson’s confession and motive: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Mr. Robinson admitted to planning the attack for over a week and carved messages referencing Antifa and the furries subculture into bullet casings, which he later described as “mostly a big meme.” The investigation gained momentum when Mr. Robinson’s family recognized him in FBI-released images and identified the rifle as belonging to his grandfather.
DNA evidence was recovered from the weapon and a towel used to wrap it after Mr. Robinson ditched it in nearby woods. Mr. Robinson initially thought he might escape detection if he could retrieve the rifle unnoticed, telling Twiggs, “If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence.”
FBI Director Kash Patel announced that Mr. Robinson’s Discord chat group is under investigation, with all participants now targets of the ongoing probe. Mr. Robinson faces additional charges including obstruction of justice for attempting to hide evidence and witness tampering for instructing Twiggs to delete their communications and remain silent if contacted by police.
Utah County Judge Tony Graf appointed a public defender for Mr. Robinson, who was ruled indigent, and approved a protective order for Mr. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk. The next court hearing is scheduled for September 29.
Utah maintains the death penalty and includes firing squad as an execution method, though only two inmates have been executed since 2010.
Read more: Utah prosecutor will seek the death penalty in Charlie Kirk’s murder
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