A Utah courtroom heard some of the most disturbing testimony yet this week in the murder case surrounding conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, as prosecutors unveiled evidence they say points to months of planning, an alleged written manifesto, engraved ammunition, and what appears to be a direct confession from the accused gunman.
Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old charged in Kirk’s September 2025 assassination at Utah Valley University, sat silently as jurists viewed a recorded FBI interview with his former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. The interview, played after days of legal wrangling over redactions, provided prosecutors with what could become one of the most significant pieces of evidence should the case proceed to trial.
According to testimony presented in court, Twiggs told investigators Robinson privately admitted responsibility for the shooting shortly after it happened.
“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before, and he said it was, started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it,” Twiggs told investigators in the recorded interview shown to the court.
Prosecutors then displayed a series of text messages they allege were exchanged between Robinson and Twiggs after Charlie Kirk was gunned down during a Turning Point USA event.
Among the messages shown in court was a brief but devastating exchange.
“You weren’t the one who did it right????” Twiggs allegedly texted. “I am,” Robinson allegedly responded. “I’m sorry.”
The courtroom reportedly grew emotional as the messages were read aloud. Members of Kirk’s family were present throughout the proceedings, and observers reported audible reactions from family members as evidence was introduced.
Prosecutors also revealed details of a handwritten note allegedly left behind before the shooting. While cameras were prohibited from photographing the document, testimony described a full-page handwritten statement that included the line:
“I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
If authenticated and ultimately admitted at trial, the note could become a cornerstone of the state’s argument that the killing was carefully planned rather than spontaneous.
Additional testimony focused on ammunition allegedly engraved with messages before the attack. Twiggs told investigators Robinson asked to borrow a Dremel tool roughly a month before Kirk’s murder.
“He asked me…if we had a Dremel tool, because he said he wanted to create messages on bullets,” Twiggs said. According to prosecutors, spent shell casings recovered from the crime scene and ammunition connected to the alleged murder weapon contained engraved messages. Investigators also reportedly recovered a similarly marked casing from the residence shared by Robinson and Twiggs.
The allegations are significant because prosecutors have consistently argued the shooting was not merely ideological violence but a calculated political assassination directed at one of America’s most influential young conservative leaders.
Kirk, who built Turning Point USA into one of the nation’s largest conservative youth organizations, was speaking during his American Comeback Tour when he was shot and killed on the Utah Valley University campus. His death sent shockwaves throughout conservative circles and prompted renewed concerns about escalating political violence directed at public figures.
Another notable moment came when prosecutors highlighted testimony indicating Robinson may have left home unusually early on the day of the shooting.
“I just know he left early,” Twiggs said in the recorded interview. “He just said he had, like, long drive to work that day.”
Investigators also presented evidence that Twiggs believed Robinson resembled the individual captured in surveillance images released by the FBI shortly after the assassination.
“They do look like Tyler Robinson,” Twiggs told investigators. “I wouldn’t say with 100% certainty just because of camera quality, but that looks like him in terms of the shoes he’s wearing, the sunglasses.”
Despite the dramatic testimony, Robinson has not yet entered a plea. Judge Tony Graf Jr. announced he would not immediately rule on whether sufficient probable cause exists to send the case to trial. Instead, both sides will submit additional briefs before oral arguments scheduled for Sept. 1.
If the judge determines prosecutors have met their burden, Robinson would formally face trial on charges that could carry the death penalty upon conviction.
For now, the hearing has provided the public with the clearest picture yet of the prosecution’s theory that Charlie Kirk’s killing was not an impulsive act, but an allegedly planned assassination carried out against one of the most recognizable conservative figures in modern American politics.
JUST IN: In a recording, Tyler Robinson’s trans lover, Lance Twiggs, says Robinson was acting “erratically” after allegedly killing Charlie Kirk.
In the bombshell video, Twiggs said Robinson told him that he “wishes he hadn’t done it.”
“I just asked him in person if what he… pic.twitter.com/jyMcjzCRPx
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 9, 2026
Major text messages have just been broadcast in the court hearing of Tyler Robinson ADMITTING to killing Charlie Kirk to his transgender lover, Lance Twiggs, via text message
“Lance replies, you weren’t the one who did it, right?”
“Tyler says: I am, I’m sorry.”
“Lance says, I… pic.twitter.com/o0XqoLRx2f
— Trumpusa1 (@Trumpusa1A1) July 10, 2026
