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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Prosecutors seek death penalty for Charlie Kirk murder suspect. Key | |
takeaways from the charges against Tyler Robinson | |
By Danya Gainor, CNN | |
Updated: | |
5:50 AM EDT, Wed September 17, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
Prosecutors charged , who is accused of killing prominent , with | |
aggravated murder on Tuesday and announced they would seek the death | |
penalty. | |
Kirk’s assassination six days ago at an event at Utah Valley | |
University sent shockwaves across the country and is the tearing | |
through American politics. | |
Utah County prosecutors charged Robinson through an information | |
document rather than an indictment. An information court document | |
allows prosecutors to charge someone directly and requires a probable | |
cause hearing, during which a judge determines if there is sufficient | |
evidence to proceed. | |
The charging document for the 22-year-old suspect outlines evidence | |
collected by investigators, including DNA on the suspected murder | |
weapon and a texted confession. | |
Here are the key takeaways from the charging document. | |
Hints at a possible motive | |
The charging document says Robinson “intentionally” targeted Kirk | |
because of Robinson’s “belief or perception regarding Charlie | |
Kirk’s political expression.” While prosecutors stopped short of | |
specifically detailing what issues motivated Robinson to carry out the | |
September 10 shooting, the charging document provided some clues. | |
In separate conversations with his roommate and family, Robinson shared | |
that Kirk “spreads too much hate,” and he “had enough of his | |
hatred,” the document said. | |
The document also said the suspect’s mother told investigators that | |
“over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had | |
started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and | |
trans-rights oriented. She stated that Robinson began to date his | |
roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders.” | |
Aggravated murder, witness tampering and other charges | |
In addition to aggravated murder, prosecutors outlined six other | |
charges against Robinson. | |
He faces two charges of obstruction of justice after concealing or | |
removing “the firearm used to shoot Charlie Kirk,” and after he | |
allegedly “destroyed, concealed, or removed the clothing he wore | |
during the shooting,” according to the document. | |
Robinson also faces one count of felony discharge of a firearm and one | |
count commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. | |
Prosecutors presented two charges of witness tampering for directing | |
his roommate to delete “incriminating” text messages and to stay | |
silent if questioned by police, the court filing states. | |
Texts and note allegedly left for roommate | |
On the day of the shooting, Robinson to “drop what you are doing, | |
look under my keyboard,” according to the charging document. The | |
roommate discovered a note there that read, “I had the opportunity to | |
take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” | |
According to the document, police interviewed the roommate, who | |
prosecutors described as “a biological male who was involved in a | |
romantic relationship with Robinson.” The roommate told police about | |
the messages and provided them to police, prosecutors said. | |
After reading the note under the keyboard, the roommate responded: | |
“What??????????????,” according to the filing. “You’re joking, | |
right????” | |
Robinson apologized for involving the roommate after saying he “hoped | |
to keep this secret till I died of old age,” the filing said. | |
When his roommate asked why he shot Kirk, the charging document says | |
Robinson replied, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be | |
negotiated out.” He told his roommate he had been planning the attack | |
for over a week, according to the charging document. | |
Robinson had also texted that he planned to retrieve the rifle he left | |
wrapped in a towel from a “drop point,” and he was “worried what | |
my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle,” | |
according to the charging document. | |
Later, Robinson texted the roommate, instructing them to “delete this | |
exchange,” before saying he planned to turn himself in | |
“willingly,“ the document said. | |
“Don’t take any interviews or make any comments,” Robinson wrote | |
to the roommate, according to the charging document. “If any police | |
ask you questions ask for a lawyer and stay silent.” | |
The escape from the roof at UVU | |
A university police officer began searching for potential shooting | |
positions just after the shot rang out, the charging document said, | |
leading him adjacent to a public walkway on a “roof area” – | |
roughly 160 yards from where Kirk was seated for the event – that had | |
markings “consistent with a sniper having lain.” | |
Police spotted an individual on surveillance video in dark clothes | |
crossing the public walkway, dropping onto the roof around 12:15 p.m., | |
according to the charging document. The individual moves out of view of | |
the camera but was captured shortly after running across the roof, then | |
crawling into a “prone shooting position” where the officer | |
encountered the markings, the filing says. | |
Following the fired shot, the charging document said, video shows the | |
individual getting up and running across the roof carrying an item | |
consistent in shape to a rifle. The person climbs down from the roof, | |
dropping the item as they hit the ground, before picking it back up to | |
run to the northeast end of campus and into a wooded area. There, | |
investigators discovered the towel-wrapped rifle. | |
Police determined that the suspect had entered the university campus | |
from the north around 11:51 a.m. that day, walking with an “unusual | |
gait” in his right leg “consistent with a rifle being hidden in his | |
pants,” the filing says. | |
DNA consistent with Robinson found on suspected murder weapon, ammo, | |
filing says | |
In the “wooded area” off UVU’s campus, investigators located a | |
bolt-action rifle containing “one spent round and three unspent | |
rounds,” and the weapon was wrapped in a towel, the charging document | |
says. The type of rifle and rounds fired were consistent with “the | |
facts officers observed at the time of, and immediately after the | |
shooting.” | |
The rifle was determined to be a Mauser Model 98 .30-06 caliber | |
bolt-action rifle equipped with a mounted scope, according to court | |
documents. The towel, rifle and ammunition were then sent for forensic | |
processing, the charging document said. | |
“DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger, other | |
parts of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing, two of the three | |
unfired cartridges, and the towel,” according to the charging | |
document. | |
Robinson said writing on bullet casings were ‘mostly a big meme,’ | |
filing says | |
Each round inside the rifle had unique messages engraved on the bullet | |
casings, which Robinson said were “mostly a big meme,” in texts to | |
his roommate, the charging document says. | |
“Remember how I was engraving bullets?” the document says Robinson | |
asked his roommate on the day of the shooting, according to the filing. | |
“The f**kin messages are mostly a big meme.” | |
The phrase “NoTices Bulge OWO What’s This?” was engraved on the | |
fired bullet, the filing says. Robinson wrote to his roommate, “If I | |
see “notices bulge uwu” on fox news I might have a stroke,” | |
according to the charging document. | |
“UwU” typically denotes an affectionate emoticon over text. | |
Earlier in the investigation, authorities pointed to what they | |
described as anti-fascist messages engraved on some of the bullet | |
casings as potential evidence of a political motive. | |
One bullet was inscribed with “Hey fascist! Catch!” – according | |
to the filing – a message that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Friday | |
“speaks for itself.” | |
Robinson’s mother told police that in the last year or so, | |
“Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to | |
the left,” according to the filing. | |
But other messages on the bullet casings included a mix of memes and | |
allusions to video games, according to the filing, suggesting a deep | |
immersion in an irony-soaked online world where meanings can be | |
difficult to precisely decipher. | |
After parents recognized Robinson’s photo, family friend helped | |
convince him to surrender | |
Approximately 33 hours after the shooting, Robinson turned himself into | |
the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with his parents and a family | |
friend, the charging document said. | |
Earlier in the day, Robinson’s mom believed she recognized their son | |
in a surveillance photo of the suspect in the news, according to the | |
document. Robinson’s father agreed and told authorities that the | |
police description of the suspected murder weapon “matched a rifle | |
that was given to his son as a gift,” according to the filing. | |
Robinson’s father texted his son, asking for a picture of the rifle, | |
according to the charging document. When he didn’t respond, his | |
father spoke to Robinson on the phone. | |
“Robinson implied that he planned to take his own life,” the filing | |
said of their conversation. “Robinson’s parents were able to | |
convince him to meet at their home.” | |
Robinson “implied that he was the shooter” to his parents, | |
according to the charging document, telling them, “There is too much | |
evil and the guy [Charlie Kirk] spreads too much hate.” | |
The family discussed Robinson turning himself in, and his parents | |
“convinced” him to speak with their friend, a retired deputy | |
sheriff, according to the filing. “The family friend met with | |
Robinson and his parents and convinced Robinson to turn himself in.” | |
The family friend told police he encouraged Robinson to bring evidence | |
with him when he surrendered to avoid a police search of his parent’s | |
home, and said Robinson told him he had disposed of the clothes he wore | |
during the attack, the charging document says. | |
This story has been updated with additional information. | |
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