The man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk was charged with murder Tuesday as authorities in Utah provided new details about the evidence against Tyler Robinson and said they plan to pursue the death penalty.
Here’s what we know about the case.
The charges
Robinson, 22, made his first appearance in a Utah County courtroom, where Fourth District Judge Tony Graf Jr. read the seven counts the defendant is charged with: felony aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of felony obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.
Robinson, who was wearing an anti-suicide vest and appeared via videolink, looked emotionless and spoke only when asked to state his name. An attorney had not yet been assigned to represent him.
Prosecutors said Robinson targeted Kirk, the popular but polarizing co-founder of Turning Point USA, during a Sept. 10 event at Utah Valley University for his “political expression.”
“The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy,” Jeff Gray, the Utah County attorney, said at a news conference earlier. “Charlie Kirk was murdered while engaging in one of our most sacred and cherished American rights, the bedrock of our democratic republic, the free exchange of ideas and a search for truth, understanding and a more perfect union.”
The prosecutor said he intends to seek the death penalty — a decision he said he made “based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”
The texts to roommate
Charging documents filed Tuesday detailed a series of purported texts between Robinson and his roommate that appeared to link him to the crime, including one that allegedly instructed the roommate to “drop what you are doing” and retrieve a note from beneath his keyboard.
“I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” the note said, according to the documents.
The exchange occurred after Robinson allegedly shot Kirk, changed his clothes and hid his rifle — a weapon he identified in the messages as his grandfather’s.
“What?????????????? You’re joking right????” the roommate wrote back.
“I am still ok my love, but am stuck in orem for a little while longer yet," Robinson responded, the documents stated. "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 so sorry to involve you.”
In the messages, Robinson allegedly told the roommate that he had been planning the attack for more than a week and described engravings found on bullet casings as a “big meme.”
When the roommate, who has not been identified, asked why he killed Kirk, Robinson allegedly responded:
“I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
In other messages, Robinson asked the roommate to delete the exchange and said he planned on turning himself in willingly, officials said in the charging document.
"If any police ask you questions ask for a lawyer and stay silent," he wrote, according to the documents.
Who is Tyler Robinson?
Relatives of Robinson and people who know the electrical apprentice described him to NBC News as “squeaky clean” and “very considerate.” Photos posted by his mother on Facebook several years ago showed the family on vacation, eating meals together and posting for Halloween photos.
According to a probable cause statement, Robinson's mother told authorities that her son — who was in his third year at Dixie Technical College — had become more political in recent months and "started to lean more left."
She said he'd become more "pro-gay and trans-rights oriented" and noted that he was dating a person transitioning from male to female, according to the statement.
The documents identified that person as the roommate Robinson messaged with in the text exchange.
"This resulted in several discussions with family members, but especially between Robinson and his father, who have very different political views," the statement says.
In a text to the roommate, Robinson allegedly described his father as "pretty diehard maga."
After the shooting, Robinson spoke with his father and implied that he planned to take his own life, according to the statement. His father asked him to meet at their home and talk with a family friend, a retired deputy sheriff.
"The family friend met with Robinson and his parents and convinced Robinson to turn himself in," the statement says.
