Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray speaks during a news conference Tuesday announcing charges filed against Tyler Robinson in Provo, Utah.

JESSE BEDAYN, HANNAH SCHOENBAUM AND JOHN SEEWER

Associated Press

CHARLIE KIRK KILLING

PROVO, Utah -- Prosecutors brought a murder charge Tuesday against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk and outlined evidence, including a text message confession to his partner and a note left beforehand saying he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation's leading conservative voices "and I'm going to take it."

DNA on the trigger of the rifle that killed Kirk also matched that of Tyler Robinson, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said while outlining the evidence and announcing charges that could result in the death penalty if Robinson is convicted.

The prosecutor said Robinson, 22, wrote in one text that he spent more than a week planning the attack on Kirk, a prominent force in politics credited with energizing the Republican youth movement and helping Donald Trump win back the White House in 2024.

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Kirk was gunned down Sept. 10 while speaking with students at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors allege Robinson shot Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby building on the campus in Orem, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Robinson appeared briefly Tuesday before a judge by video from jail. He nodded slightly at times but mostly stared straight ahead as the judge read the charges against him and appointed an attorney to represent him. Robinson's family declined to comment to The Associated Press since his arrest.

Motive unclear

Authorities have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting, but Gray said Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: "I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out."

Robinson also left a note for his partner hidden under a keyboard that said, "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it," according to Gray.

The prosecutor declined to answer whether Robinson targeted Kirk for his anti-transgender views. Kirk was shot while taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.

"That is for a jury to decide," Gray said. Robinson was involved in a romantic relationship with his roommate, who investigators say was transgender, which hasn't been confirmed. Gray said the partner is cooperating with investigators.

Robinson's partner appeared shocked in the text exchange after the shooting, according to court documents, asking Robinson "why he did it and how long he'd been planning it."

More political

While authorities say Robinson isn't cooperating with investigators, they say his family and friends have been talking.

Robinson's mother told investigators their son turned left politically in the last year and became more supportive of gay and transgender rights after dating someone who is transgender, Gray said.

Those decisions prompted several conversations in the household, especially between Robinson and his father. They had diff erent political views and Robinson told his partner in a text that his dad had become a "diehard MAGA" since Trump was elected.

Robinson's mother recognized him when authorities released a picture of the suspect and his parents confronted him, at which time Robinson said he wanted to kill himself, Gray said.

The family persuaded him to meet with a family friend who is a retired sheriff 's deputy, who persuaded Robinson to turn himself in, the prosecutor said.

Robinson was arrested late Thursday near St. George, the southern Utah community where he grew up, about 240 miles southwest of where the shooting happened.

Movements after shooting

In a text exchange with his partner 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 theres 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."

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."

He also was worried about losing his grandfather's rifle and mentioned several times in the texts that he wished he had picked it up, according to the texts shared in court documents, which did not have timestamps. It was unclear how long after the shooting Robinson texted.

"To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you," Robinson wrote in another text to his partner.

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 also was charged with witness tampering because he directed his partner to delete their text messages and told his partner to stay silent if questioned by police, Gray said.

Investigation continues

FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday that agents are looking at "anyone and everyone" who was involved in a gaming chatroom on the social media platform Discord with Robinson. The chatroom involved "a lot more" than 20 people, he said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington.

"We are investigating Charlie's assassination fully and completely and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence," Patel said in response to a question about whether the Kirk shooting was being treated as part of a broader trend of violence against religious groups.

The charges filed Tuesday carry two enhancements, including committing several of the crimes in front of or close to children and carrying out violence based on the subject's political beliefs.

Some who opposed Kirk's provocative statements about gender, race and politics criticized him after his death. Many Republicans led the push to punish anyone they believe dishonored him, causing both public and private workers to lose their jobs or face other consequences at work.

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