Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson charged with murder; prosecutors seek death penalty

An attorney conducting the search for a public defender to represent Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson said that one could be lined up by tomorrow.

Several attorneys have already met Robinson, attorney Greg Skordas said.

Skordas said today that there are three or four candidates. The search is being conducted because the local public defender is not contracted to do death penalty work, he said.

A Utah man who was initially questioned in the aftermath of Kirk's shooting has been arrested on suspicion of unrelated charges, including obstruction of justice, the Utah County Sheriff's Office said today.

George Zinn, 71, was being held on one count of second-degree obstruction of justice and four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, sheriff's office said. Zinn has no connection to the shooting, it said.

Police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause that after Kirk was shotm Zinn began yelling, “I shot him, now shoot me” and was arrested.

Zinn was taken to a hospital for a condition after his arrest.

“During this time, George made statements to the officer that he was glad he said he shot the individual so the real suspect could get away,” police wrote in the affidavit.

The sexual exploitation charges stem from images allegedly found on Zinn’s phone when the device was searched after his arrest.

The sheriff’s office said that investigators observed “over 20 images of children ranging from 5 to 12 years old in various stages of undress and sexual posing” and a text thread in which the images were shared with others.

Zinn has not yet been formally charged but was arrested on the counts, according to court records. Online court records did not list an attorney for him this afternoon.

The Utah judge overseeing Tyler Robinson’s prosecution issued a protective order today for Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.

The order bars Robinson from contacting her and warns of additional charges if he violates the order.

Robinson made his first appearance via videolink in a Utah County courtroom today. He sat emotionless as Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf Jr. read the charges against him.

Robinson spoke only when asked to state his name. He appeared to nod when Graf told him he would remain jailed without bail.

He has not yet been appointed an attorney. His next hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 29.

Prosecutors in a charging document say that after the shooting, Tyler Robinson's roommate received a text message from him: “drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard.” The roommate found a note that said, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

After reading the note, the roommate responded, “What?????????????? You’re joking, right????”

Robinson: I am still ok my love, but am stuck in orem for a little while longer yet. Shouldn’t be long until I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.

Roommate: you weren’t the one who did it right????

Tyler Robinson engraved his ammunition with references to internet memes, according to law enforcement, leaving investigators and onlookers curious about their deeper meaning. But text messages revealed in newly released charging documents suggest that the references may have been a form of trolling rather than a sign of motive or ideology.

"remember how I was engraving bullets?" Robinson is said to have written to his roommate, according to the documents. "The f----in messages are mostly a big meme, if I see 'notices bulge uwu' on fox new I might have a stroke."

On Friday, the bullet engravings became a heated topic. Along with the "uwu" meme referenced — which is a joke about the furry community — another engraving appeared to reference a video game, reading, "Hey fascist! Catch! ↑ → ↓↓↓." The note appeared to be a reference to the game "Helldivers 2," which is a satirical take on fascism, but the mention of fascism quickly led many to speculate that it was a political message meant for Charlie Kirk.

Other engravings included “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,” a reference to lyrics in an Italian song that is anti-fascist in nature and has become a meme, and one that read "If you read this, you are gay LMAO."

In the moments after Tyler Robinson's loved ones figured out he might have been Charlie Kirk's killer, the suspect "implied that he planned to take his own life," prosecutors said.

The 22-year-old's mother and father called their son, asking what he knew about the crime, officials said.

"Robinson implied that he planned to take his own life. Robinson’s parents were able to convince him to meet at their home," Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said.

"As they discussed the situation, Robinson implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn't go to jail and just wanted to end it," Gray said.

Before the shooting, Robinson appeared to mock Kirk's choice of speaking at Utah Valley University, prosecutors said.

Robinson and his father had been growing apart in their political views as apparent in repeated conversations between the two, Utah County prosecutor Jeff Gray said.

"In one conversation before the shooting, Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk would be holding an event at UVU, which Robinson said was a stupid venue for the event," Gray told reporters. "Robinson accused Kirk of spreading hate."

Tyler Robinson told his roommate that he had planned the shooting for a little over a week and had hoped to keep it a secret “until I died of old age,” Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said.

The roommate told authorities that Robinson texted on Sept. 10 and told the roommate to look under a keyboard.

“Drop what you’re doing, look under my keyboard,” the message read, according to Gray.

Gray said a note was found under the keyboard that stated: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.”

After reading the note, the roommate texted Robinson and asked if he was joking, Gray said. Robinson allegedly responded: “I am still OK, my love. … Shouldn’t be long till I can home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret until I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.”

The roommate then asked Robinson if he was involved in the shooting. Robinson confirmed that he was and said he intended to grab his rifle, but the area was on lockdown, according to the messages Gray detailed at the news conference.

When the roommate asked why he did it, Robinson allegedly responded: “I had enough of his hate. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Robinson instructed the roommate to delete their text conversation, Gray said.