Death penalty charge faced by suspect in Charlie Kirk assassination

PROVO Utah Prosecutors brought a murder charge Tuesday against the man accused of assassinating 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 mentioned while outlining the evidence and announcing charges that could end in the death penalty if Robinson is convicted The prosecutor noted Robinson 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 The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy Gray commented Kirk was gunned down Sept 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 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 declared he would appoint an attorney to represent him Robinson s family has declined to comment since his arrest Leadership have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting but Gray noted that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner I had enough of his hatred Specific hate can t be negotiated out Robinson also left a note for his partner hidden under a keyboard that mentioned 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 explained Robinson was involved in a romantic relationship with his roommate who investigators say was transgender which hasn t been verified Gray noted the partner has been 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 Parents declared their son became more political While administration say Robinson hasn t been cooperating with investigators they say his family and friends have been talking Robinson s mother described investigators that their son had turned left politically in the last year and became more supportive of gay and transgender rights after dating someone who is transgender Gray mentioned Those decisions prompted several conversations in the household especially between Robinson and his father They had different political views and Robinson reported his partner in a text that his dad had become a diehard MAGA since Trump was elected Robinson s mother recognized him when leadership distributed a picture of the suspect and his parents confronted him at which time Robinson stated he craved to kill himself Gray commented 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 reported Robinson was arrested late Thursday near St George the southern Utah district where he grew up about miles southwest of where the shooting happened Robinson detailed movements after the shooting In a text exchange with his partner circulated by agents Robinson wrote I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after but majority of that side of town got locked down Its quiet almost enough to get out but theres one carriage 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 Robinson was also charged with felony discharge of a firearm punishable by up to life in prison and obstructing justice punishable by up to years in prison He also was charged with witness tampering because he had directed his partner to delete their text messages and advised his partner to stay silent if questioned by police Gray disclosed Kash Patel says investigators will look at everyone FBI Director Kash Patel declared 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 people he disclosed during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington We are probing Charlie s assassination fully and utterly and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence Patel revealed 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 Gray declined to say whether Robinson s partner could face charges or whether anyone else might face charges Kirk a dominant figure in conservative politics became a confidant of President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA one of the nation s largest political organizations He brought young conservative evangelical Christians into politics Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray AP Photo Alex Goodlett Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem Utah last week Tess Crowley The Deseret News via AP