Tyler Robinson texts revealed: ‘Going to take opportunity to take Kirk out’
Tyler Robinson’s messages with his roommate, revealed during his first court appearance, show the 22-year-old hoped to get away with the assassination of Charlie Kirk | Read the texts
Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin has appeared in court for the first time, as Utah prosecutors unveiled seven charges against him and outlined evidence, including a text-message confession to his partner and a note saying he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices “and I’m going to take it”.
Tyler Robinson, 22, wore a green, sleeveless anti-suicide vest as he appeared before a judge via video link for the first time.
He spoke only to confirm his name, staring ahead as the judge read the charges against him.
At a press conference, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray outlined the evidence against Robinson, including that DNA on the trigger of the rifle used to kill Mr Kirk matched that of the suspect. He said prosecutors would seek the death penalty if Robinson was convicted.
The prosecutor said Robinson wrote in one text that he had spent more than a week planning the attack on Mr Kirk, a prominent force in politics credited with energising the Republican youth movement and helping Donald Trump win the White House in 2024.
The counts include aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, according to a 10-page document detailed by Mr Gray. The filing alleged clear evidence pointing to Robinson: he confessed to the killing to his parents and a roommate – with whom he was in a romantic relationship – and his DNA was found on the trigger of the rifle.
“The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy,” Mr Gray said.
Mr Kirk was gunned down on September 10 while debating with students at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors allege Robinson shot Mr Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby building on the campus in Orem, about 64km south of Salt Lake City.
Robinson was arrested with the help of his family.
During his court appearance, he nodded when told prosecutors would seek the death penalty.
Prosecutors said Robinson told his parents that “there is too much evil and the guy spreads too much hate”, in a reference to Mr Kirk. He is also alleged to have left a note under a keyboard in an apartment he shared with the roommate. “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” the note read.
In a text exchange with his roommate, quoted in the charging document, Robinson said he had been planning the shooting for a week. “To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age,” he allegedly wrote in one message.
The partner texted him to ask: “You weren’t the one who did it right????”, to which Robinson responded: “I am, I’m sorry.”
“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson texted the partner.
Mr Kirk had been speaking about mass shootings carried out by transgender attackers when he was shot. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Robinson allegedly wrote.
In the hours afterwards, Robinson allegedly hid his .30 hunting rifle, which he claimed was his grandfather’s, and discarded the clothes he was wearing.
He ultimately was not able to retrieve the rifle as planned. He allegedly texted and said: “I might have to abandon it and hope they don’t find prints.”
He is also accused of urging his roommate to delete incriminating messages and to not speak to investigators.
Robinson’s mother saw a photograph of the shooter in the news the next day the killing and thought the person looked like her son, the filing alleges. She called her son and asked him where he was. He replied that had been home sick on September 10, the day of the attack.
The prosecutor declined to say whether Robinson targeted Mr Kirk for his anti-transgender views.
“That is for a jury to decide,” Mr Gray said.
Partner co-operating with authorities
Robinson was involved in a romantic relationship with his roommate, who investigators say was transgender, which hasn’t been confirmed. Mr Gray said the partner had been co-operating with investigators.
Robinson’s partner appeared shocked in the text exchange after the shooting, according to the court documents, asking Robinson “why he did it and how long he’d been planning it”. While authorities say Robinson hasn’t been co-operating, his family and friends have.
Robinson’s mother told investigators her son had embraced left-wing politics in the past year and became more supportive of gay and transgender rights after dating someone who was transgender, Mr Gray said.
Those decisions prompted several conversations in the household, especially between Robinson and his father. They had different political views, and Robinson told his partner in one text that his father had become a “diehard MAGA” since Donald Trump was elected.
The family persuaded Robinson to meet a family friend who is a retired sheriff’s deputy, who persuaded Robinson to turn himself in, the prosecutor said.
Robinson was arrested on Thursday near St George, the southern Utah community where he grew up, about 390km southwest of where the shooting happened.
In a text exchange with his partner released by authorities, Robinson wrote: “I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. Its quiet, almost enough to get out, but there’s one vehicle 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.”
He also was worried about losing his grandfather’s rifle and mentioned several times in the texts that he wished he had picked it up, according to the messages shared in court documents. It was unclear how long after the shooting Robinson was texting.
“To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you,” Robinson wrote in another text to his partner.
Robinson was also charged with felony discharge of a firearm, punishable by up to life in prison, and obstructing justice, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
He also was charged with witness tampering because he had directed his partner to delete their text messages and told his partner to stay silent if questioned by police, Mr Gray said.
FBI director Kash Patel said on Tuesday that agents were looking at “anyone and everyone” who was involved with Robinson in a gaming chatroom on the social media platform Discord. The chatroom involved “a lot more” than 20 people, Mr Patel said during a Senate judiciary committee hearing in Washington.
“We are investigating Charlie’s assassination fully and completely and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence,” he said in response to a question about whether the shooting of Mr Kirk was being treated as part of a broader trend of violence against religious groups.
The charges filed on 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.
Mr Gray declined to say whether Robinson’s partner could face charges or whether anyone else might.
Mr Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics, became a confidant of Mr Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest political organisations. He brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics.
In the days since Mr Kirk’s assassination, Americans have found themselves facing questions about rising political violence, the deep divisions that brought the nation to this point and whether anything can change.
Despite calls for greater civility, some who opposed Mr Kirk’s provocative statements about gender, race and politics criticised him after his death. Many Republicans have led the push to punish anyone they believe dishonoured him, causing public and private workers to lose their jobs or face other consequences at work.
AP
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