I attended the press conference today in Provo, UT where formal charges were filed against Charlie Kirk's accused assassin, Tyler Robinson. Here are my main takeaways:
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray will pursue the death penalty. 6 felonies and 1 misdemeanor have been filed. The most aggravating is capital murder which carries a minimum of 25 years. But again, the state will be pursuing death.
DNA matching Robinson was found on a number of items tied to the murder. Gray says it was on the trigger of the rifle found, on the towel left behind, and on the unused and used shell casing left behind with the rifle.
Parents were a big help in this investigation. Mom first contacted Robinson after seeing an image of the suspect on the news. She called her son, who claimed he was home and sick at the time of the shooting. Mom told the police that over the last year, her son had become more political and had been leaning more toward the left; also more pro-gray and trans-rights oriented. Mom told police he began dating his roommate, a male transitioning to female, which resulted in conflicts between him and his father who had different political views.
Parents told police that Robinson had mentioned that he knew Charlie Kirk would be at Utah Valley University and that he accused Kirk of spreading hate. Later, when his parents asked why he did it, he explained that "there was too much evil and Kirk spreads too much hate."His father had gifted the rifle used in the attack to Robinson. It was a family gun first belonging to Robinson's grandfather.
The most damning evidence against Tyler Robinson is text messages he exchanged in the 33-hours between the murder and turning himself in, where he confessed to his roommate and lover. Robinson had pre-written a note to his roommate that he left behind: "I have the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it." Police have a photograph of this note.
Full text message exchange between Tyler Robinson and his roommate and lover, a transgender male transitioning to become a woman.
Robinson will appear virtually today in court at 3pmMT where he will be informed of the charges filed against him. A preliminary hearing will come next where a judge will hear all the evidence against Robinson. Finally an arraignment, where Robinson will make his plea.
