PROVO, Utah — As authorities worked feverishly to find the person who assassinated Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University last week, the 22-year-old man now charged with the crime was texting with his romantic partner and acknowledging he was the shooter, court documents revealed.
Tyler Robinson fired a single fatal shot from the rooftop of a building overlooking the outdoor venue where Kirk was speaking to about 3,000 people on Sept. 10, investigators say. Afterward, prosecutors say he texted with the partner, who he lived with near St. George, Utah, about 240 miles (387 kilometers) southwest of the campus.
He said to look under his keyboard at their home. There was a note that said, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
After expressing shock, his partner asked Robinson if he was the shooter. Robinson responded, “I am, I’m sorry.”
The partner apparently never went to law enforcement with the information. Robinson remained on the run until the next night, when his parents recognized he was the person in a photo released by authorities as they searched for the shooter. They helped organize Robinson’s peaceful surrender.
The partner was not named in the charging documents that contained the narrative of the shooting and were made public Tuesday when authorities charged Robinson with capital murder and other counts. He could face the death penalty.
Law enforcement officials say they are looking at whether others knew about or aided Robinson in the assassination. They have not said if the partner is among those being investigated but have publicly expressed appreciation for the partner sharing information.
Prosecutors allege Robinson used a bolt-action rifle to shoot Kirk in the neck on the campus in Orem, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. DNA on the trigger of the rifle matched Robinson, according to Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray. The rifle had been Robinson’s grandfather’s.
Robinson appeared briefly Tuesday before a judge by video from jail. He nodded slightly at times but mostly stared ahead as the judge read the charges and said he would appoint an attorney to represent him. Robinson’s family has declined to comment to The Associated Press since his arrest.
Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, was a prominent force in politics credited with energizing the Republican youth movement and helping Donald Trump win back the White House in 2024. He gained a large following through social media, his podcast and campus events that featured him responding to a line of questioners who could query and debate him on any topic.
Authorities have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting, but Gray said that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
The prosecutor said Robinson also wrote in one text that he spent more than a week planning the attack on Kirk. Authorities have not said what they believe the planning entailed.
Gray declined to answer whether Robinson targeted Kirk for his anti-transgender views. Kirk was shot while taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.
“That is for a jury to decide,” Gray said.
Robinson was involved in a romantic relationship with his roommate, who investigators say is transgender.
While authorities say Robinson hasn’t been cooperating with investigators, they say his family and friends have been sharing information.
Robinson’s mother told investigators that their son had turned hard left politically in the last year and became more supportive of gay and transgender rights, Gray said.
Those decisions prompted several conversations in the household, especially between Robinson and his father. They had different political views and Robinson told his partner in a text that his dad had become a “diehard MAGA” since Trump was elected.
Robinson’s mother recognized him when authorities released a picture of the suspect and his parents confronted him, at which time Robinson said he wanted to kill himself, Gray said.
The family persuaded him to meet with a family friend who is a retired sheriff’s deputy. That person was able to get Robinson to turn himself in, the prosecutor said.
Robinson was arrested late Thursday near St. George, where he grew up.
In a text exchange with his partner released by authorities, Robinson wrote about planning to get his rifle from his “drop point,” but that the area was “locked down.”
Later he sent: “I can get close to it but there is a squad car parked right by it. I think they already swept that spot, but I don’t wanna chance it.” The texts cited in court documents did not include timestamps and it was unclear how long after the shooting Robinson was texting.
“To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you,” Robinson wrote in another text to his partner.
Robinson discarded the rifle and clothing and asked his roommate to conceal evidence, Gray said.
Robinson 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 also was charged with witness tampering because he had directed his partner to delete their text messages and told his partner to stay silent if questioned by police, Gray said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday that agents are looking at “anyone and everyone” who was involved in a gaming chatroom on the social media platform Discord with Robinson. The chatroom involved “a lot more” than 20 people, he said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington.
The charges filed Tuesday carry two enhancements, including committing several of the crimes in front of or close to children and carrying out violence based on the subject’s political beliefs.
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 organizations. He brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics.
In the days since 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 Kirk’s provocative statements about gender, race and politics criticized 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.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.
