Tyler Robinson, the man suspected of shooting Charlie Kirk dead, could face the death penalty after being charged with aggravated murder. Mr Kirk was gunned down on September 10 as he spoke with students and died soon after. Prosecutors allege Mr Robinson shot Mr Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby campus building.
Mr Robinson, 22, also was 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 was scheduled to appear on camera for a virtual court hearing on Tuesday afternoon. It was unclear whether Mr Robinson had an attorney who could speak on his behalf, and his family has declined to comment.
Mr Robinson was arrested late Thursday near St. George, the southern Utah community where he grew up.
Investigators have spoken to his relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family’s home in Washington, Utah, about 240 miles (390 kilometres) southwest of where the shooting happened.
Mr Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics, became a confidant of President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest political organisations. He brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics. His shooting raised fears about increasing political violence in a deeply polarised United States.
While authorities say Robinson has not been cooperating with investigators, they say his family and friends have been talking. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said over the weekend that those who know Robinson say his politics shifted left in recent years and he spent a lot of time in the “dark corners of the internet”.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday on the Fox News Channel show “Fox & Friends” that DNA evidence has linked Robinson to a towel wrapped around a rifle found near the Utah Valley campus and a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired.
Before the shooting, Robinson wrote in a note that he had an opportunity to take out Mr Kirk and was going to do it, according to Patel.
The FBI also is looking at “anyone and everyone” who was involved in a gaming chatroom on the social media platform Discord with Robinson, Patel said Tuesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington. The chatroom involved “a lot more” than 20 people, he said.
in response to a question about whether the Kirk shooting was being treated as part of a broader trend of violence against religious groups, Mr Patel said: “We are investigating Charlie’s assassination fully and completely and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence.”
Investigators are working on finding a motive for the attack, Utah’s governor said Sunday, adding that more information may come out once Mr Robinson appears for his initial court hearing.
Cox said Mr Robinson’s romantic partner was transgender, which some politicians have pointed to as a sign the suspect was targeting Mr Kirk for his anti-transgender views. But authorities have not said whether that played a role. Mr Kirk was shot while taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said Monday that Mr Robinson’s partner has been cooperative. He said investigators believe Mr Robinson acted alone during the shooting, but they also are looking at whether anyone knew of his plans beforehand.
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 here 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 dishonored him, causing both public and private workers to lose their jobs or face other consequences at work.
