Suspect charged with aggravated murder in Kirk’s assassination, may face death penalty

Utah prosecutors on Sept. 16 formally charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder in the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.

At a Sept. 16 press conference announcing the charges, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said his office will also seek the death penalty, citing the severity of the crime.

“I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime,” Gray said. “Because we are seeking the death penalty, the defendant will continue to be held without bail in the Utah County Jail.”

In addition to aggravated murder, Robinson faces counts of discharging a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child.

Gray said Robinson’s parents identified him after recognizing him in surveillance images released by law enforcement. He added that Robinson later turned himself in to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with his parents and a family friend.

Robinson’s mother told investigators her son had grown “more political” in the past year and “had started to lean more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and trans rights oriented,” Gray said. 

The attorney added that she also explained Robinson had begun to date his roommate, “a biological male who was transitioning genders.” 

Prosecutors detailed text messages Robinson allegedly exchanged with his roommate after the shooting. In them, Robinson confessed he had been planning the attack for a little over a week and intended to keep the act a secret “until I died of old age,” Gray said.

Gray said that on Sept. 10, the day of the shooting, Robinson texted his roommate to “drop what you’re doing, look under my keyboard.” Underneath was a note that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.”

According to Gray, Robinson later confirmed to his roommate that he carried out the attack but could not retrieve his rifle — which belonged to his grandfather — because the area was locked down. 

When asked by his roommate why he did it, Robinson replied, “I had enough of his hate. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Gray noted.

Police announced Sept. 12 that they had detained Robinson after a family friend turned him in. Investigators recovered the rifle used in the attack and later matched Robinson’s DNA to a towel wrapped around the weapon.

Before Robinson’s arrest, police briefly detained two other suspects and later released them after determining they were not involved. FOX 13 reported Sept. 15 that one of the initial detainees, 71-year-old George Zinn, falsely confessed at the scene, shouting, “I shot him. Now shoot me.”

Zinn later admitted he was unarmed and said he wanted to “draw attention from the real shooter,” the outlet reported. He has since been charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, and four counts of second-degree felony sexual exploitation of a minor.