Charlie Kirk shooting: Tyler Robinson’s messages and charges against him

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Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the killing of conservative US activist Charlie Kirk appeared virtually on Tuesday for his first court hearing since his arrest

Earlier, Utah prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for Robinson, as they cited evidence against him, including alleged text messages in which he appeared to confess to carrying out the assassination on September 10 during an even that Kirk was hosting at Utah Valley University (UVU).

“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson, 22, told his flatmate and romantic partner when asked why he had committed the murder, according to transcripts filed by prosecutors with the court. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” he added.

Here is what we know:

What happened on Tuesday?

Prosecutors laid out extensive evidence against Robinson, much of it taken from his own communications with friends and family.

He also made his first court appearance on Tuesday in Provo, Utah, via a video feed from the county jail where he is being held. Robinson showed up unshaven and wearing what appeared to be a green suicide-prevention smock.

He showed no expression, but listened closely as the judge read the charges and warned he could face the death penalty. Robinson spoke only once, to state his name.

In court filings, prosecutors began to lay out the case against Robinson, who was at large for more than 30 hours before turning himself in.

The document also revealed text messages from Robinson to his flatmate, whom Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray described as “a biological male who was involved in a romantic relationship with Robinson”. Utah Governor Spencer Cox earlier described the flatmate as a person “transitioning from male to female”.

This screengrab from the Utah Court live streaming shows Tyler Robinson (bottom left), the suspect in the killing of political activist Charlie Kirk, attending a court appearance remotely from his jail cell in Provo, Utah, on September 16, 2025.

What was Tyler Robinson charged with?

Gray said Robinson was charged with seven offences, including aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm.

Gray said he would seek the death penalty, citing the threat to others at the UVU event where Kirk was shot, especially children, in addition to Kirk’s killing.

The 10-page charging document filed by Utah officials contains details on the reasoning behind the charges against Robinson.

Here are the charges against Robinson:

Count 1: Aggravated murder, which pertains to Robinson’s shooting and killing of Charlie Kirk in a manner that exposed others, in addition to Kirk, to a great risk of death.
Count 2: Felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony.
Count 3: Obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, for moving and concealing the rifle used in the shooting.
Count 4: Obstructing justice, which pertains to Robinson’s removal and hiding of the clothing he wore.
Count 5: Witness tampering, which pertains to Robinson’s statement to his flatmate telling him to delete his incriminating text.
Count 6: Witness tampering, a third-degree felony, for directing his flatmate to stay silent if police questioned him.
Count 7: Violent offence committed in the presence of a child, which pertains to Robinson’s shooting of Kirk in the presence of children under the age of 14, who were visible at the event.

Why did Robinson’s mother suspect her son was the perpetrator?

The document added to previous details that authorities had made public about Robinson soon after his arrest, detailing how his family and flatmate had cooperated with investigators and played a key role in convincing the suspect to turn himself in.

Prosecutors said his mother told investigators that the day after the shooting, she saw a photo of the suspect on the news and thought it looked like her son.

“Robinson’s mother called her son and asked him where he was. He said he was at home sick… [She] expressed concern to her husband that the suspected shooter looked like him. Robinson’s father agreed,” the document said.

“His father also believed that the rifle that police suspected the shooter used matched a rifle that was given to his son as a gift.”

Robinson eventually spoke to his father on the phone and implied that he would kill himself, according to prosecutors. With the help of a family friend who is a retired deputy sheriff, his parents persuaded him to surrender to authorities.

Robinson’s mother said that over the last year or so, her son had become more political and leaned more to the left, “becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented”. Robinson “began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders”, his mother added.

What else did the text messages reveal?

On the day of the shooting, Robinson texted his flatmate and partner, the document said, telling them to “drop what you’re doing, look under my keyboard”.

When the flatmate looked under Robinson’s keyboard, they found a note.

The note read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

After reading the note, the flatmate texted Robinson back: “What????????????? You’re joking, right????”

Robison: “I am still ok my love, but am stuck in orem for a little while longer yet. Shouldn’t be long until I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.”
Flatmate: “you weren’t the one who did it right????”
Robinson: “I am, I’m sorry”
Flatmate: “I thought they caught the person?”
Robinson: “no, they grabbed some crazy old dude, then interrogated someone in similar clothing. I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down.”

A charging document in the State of Utah v Tyler Robinson [Provo District Court/Handout via Reuters]

Robinson also told his flatmate that the rifle he allegedly used belonged to his grandfather. He sent several messages about how he might retrieve it while police were searching for him in the hours after the shooting.

“I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle,” Robinson said in the messages, and appeared to consider whether it could be traced back to him.

“I might have to abandon it and hope they don’t find prints. how the f*** will I explain losing it to my old man?” he said, according to the documents.

The document said the police found the rifle near the scene, wrapped in a towel. The towel, the rifle and the ammunition were then sent for forensic testing.

“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,” the document said.

Each bullet in the rifle had a different message etched into its casing.

Fired cartridge: “NoTices Bulge OWO What’s This?”
Second cartridge: “Hey Facist! Catch! [arrow symbols]”
Third cartridge: “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao Bella ciao Ciao, ciao!”
Fourth cartridge: “If you Read This, You Are GAY Lmao”

Robinson appeared to joke about the messages, the document said.

“Remember how I was engraving bullets?,” Robinson asked in the text messages to his flatmate. He then said that the “messages are mostly a big meme, if I see ‘notices bulge uwu’ on fox new[s] I might have a stroke”.

He also told his flatmate that he had been planning the attack on Kirk “for a bit over a week”. Robinson told the flatmate to “delete this exchange” and not to speak to police or the media.

Talking about his father, a registered Republican, Robinson said that “since trump got into office, [my dad] has been pretty diehard maga,” according to the transcript of his exchange with his partner. He was referring to MAGA, the “Make America Great Again” movement of US President Donald Trump, which has reshaped traditional Republican politics.