Authorities charged the suspect in the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child in local Utah court on Tuesday.
Tyler Robinson, 22, faces a possible death sentence if convicted of his charges in the Sept. 10 shooting death of Kirk at TPUSA’s Utah Valley University (UVU) event in Orem, Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray said at a Tuesday press conference. Robinson targeted Kirk based on “political expression,” officials said, confirming the alleged motive in Kirk’s assassination.
The assassin climbed to the roof of UVU’s Losee Center and killed Kirk with one shot from a rifle before fleeing on foot, authorities have alleged. A two-day manhunt ensued in which the FBI released surveillance images of Robinson to the public, showing him in a black hat and sunglasses.
The witness tampering charges stemmed from Robinson’s efforts to hide from authorities through tactics such as changing clothes, Gray said. Children were visible from where Kirk was speaking just before the shot rang out, according to Gray.
Gray called the murder “an American tragedy” and an attack on the “free exchange of ideas.”
“It is also an offense against the state and to the peace and enjoyment of the people of Utah and of all those who visit here … Charlie Kirk was first and foremost a husband and father to two beautiful young children,” Gray said. “He was a son and a brother and a friend.”
Following Robinson’s Thursday arrest in Washington County, emerging media reports described more of his alleged behavior and personal background ahead of the arrest.
Robinson was caught after his father allegedly recognized him from the FBI’s images and confronted him, according to multiple reports. Robinson reportedly confessed to the killing but initially threatened suicide rather than turn himself in, leading his father to talk to a youth pastor who reported the suspect to authorities.
The suspect also confessed to online friends that “it was me at UVU yesterday” on the messaging platform Discord just before he turned himself in, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Investigators obtained Robinson’s rifle in a wooded area with a towel wrapped around it, FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday. They found Robinson’s DNA on the towel and a screwdriver left on the rooftop where the shot was fired, Patel said.
Bullet casings found with the gun had messages such as “hey fascist! CATCH!” and the anti-fascist phrase “Bella ciao” written on them, authorities previously said.
Robinson is being held in a Utah County jail without bond, records show. He is expected to make his first court appearance virtually on Tuesday.
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Republished with permission from Daily Caller News Foundation
