Authorities on Tuesday revealed more allegations about the man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk, describing incriminating text messages to his transgender roommate and his parents’ efforts to convince him to turn himself in.
Tyler Robinson, 22, faces a possible death sentence if convicted of his charges in the Sept. 10 shooting death of Kirk at TPUSA’s Utah Valley University (UVU) event in Orem, Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray said at a Tuesday press conference. Robinson targeted Kirk based on “political expression,” officials said, confirming the alleged motive in Kirk’s assassination. Robinson’s charges are aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child.Â
The assassin climbed to the roof of UVU’s Losee Center and killed Kirk with one shot from a rifle before fleeing on foot, authorities allege. A two-day manhunt ensued in which the FBI released surveillance images of Robinson to the public, showing him in a black hat and sunglasses.
Robinson had been dating a male roommate transitioning to a female transgender identity ahead of the shooting, Robinson’s mother allegedly told authorities in an interview, according to a charging document released Tuesday.
In text conversations with the roommate after the shooting, Robinson told him to look under his keyboard for a note, and it read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” the document alleges.
“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson allegedly texted to the roommate. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
“Since [President Donald] Trump got into office, my dad has been pretty die-hard MAGA,” Robinson allegedly told his partner.
The suspect’s mother told authorities that her son “had become more political and had started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” Gray’s office claims. His political views differed greatly from his father’s, she allegedly said.
Robinson turned himself in after his parents recognized him from the FBI’s photos, confronted him and heard him imply to them that he was the shooter, according to the charging document. Robinson initially threatened to kill himself rather than go to jail, prosecutors said. A family friend, who was a retired sheriff, allegedly met with the three of them and convinced Robinson to submit to arrest.
Robinson also told the roommate over text that he planned to turn himself in, adding, “You are all I worry about, love,” according to prosecutors.
Investigators found Robinson’s gun in a wooded area with cartridges that had messages such as “hey fascist! CATCH!” and the anti-fascist phrase “Bella ciao” written on them, Gray’s office alleged. Other engraved phrases allegedly included internet slang such as “NoTices Bulge OWO What’s This?” Robinson’s DNA was also allegedly on the weaponry.
“The fuckin messages are mostly a big meme,” Robinson texted his roommate, according to Gray’s office.
The witness tampering charges stem from Robinson’s alleged efforts to hide from authorities through tactics such as changing clothes and telling his roommate to delete text messages. Additionally, children were visible from where Kirk was speaking just before the shot rang out, leading to another charge, according to Gray’s office.
The political targeting of Kirk is an “aggravating factor” in Robinson’s charges that could increase penalties, the charging document says.
When confronted by his parents, Robinson told them, “There is too much evil and the guy spreads too much hate,” referring to Kirk, prosecutors allege.
The suspect also confessed to online friends that “it was me at UVU yesterday” on the messaging platform Discord just before he turned himself in, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Gray called Kirk’s murder “an American tragedy” and an attack on the “free exchange of ideas” during the press conference.
“It is also an offense against the state and to the peace and enjoyment of the people of Utah and of all those who visit here … Charlie Kirk was first and foremost a husband and father to two beautiful young children,” Gray said. “He was a son and a brother and a friend.”
Robinson is being held in a Utah County jail without bond, records show. He is expected to make his first court appearance virtually on Tuesday.
A medical examiner’s report on Kirk’s body is pending, Gray’s charging document says.
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