Utah County Attorney Jeffrey S. Grey detailed the charges against 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Less than a week after the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, 31, Tyler Robinson was formally charged with the crime, and will be making his first court appearance.

Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder, was shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, September 10. Kirk was answering questions from students in front of a crowd of 3000 attendees at the time of his death. Robinson was arrested approximately 33 hours later after a statewide manhunt.

Initial reports from authorities revealed that Robinson’s father recognized him from photos circulated by news outlets. When confronted, Tyler reportedly admitted to the crime, which led his father to reach out to a family friend, later identified as a youth pastor. After speaking with Tyler, the pastor contacted authorities, and Tyler was taken into custody. He was held on charges of suspicion of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and felony discharge of a firearm.

However, in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week,” Utah governor Spencer Cox shared that the suspect was “not cooperating, but all the people around him are cooperating.”

Charges were formally filed against Tyler Robinson on Tuesday.

As the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s murder continues, a press conference was held in which Utah County Attorney Jeffrey S. Gray detailed the seven charges filed against Tyler Robinson. The charges are as follows:

Count 1 – Aggravated murder, a capital offense, for intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Charlie Kirk under circumstances that created a great risk of death to others.

Count 2 – Felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony.

Count 3, Obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony for moving and concealing the rifle used in the shooting.

Count 4 – Obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony for disposing of the clothing he wore during the shooting.

Count 5 – Witness tampering, a third-degree felony, for directing his roommate to delete his incriminating texts.

Count 6 – Witness tampering, a third-degree felony, for directing his roommate to stay silent when police questioned him.

Count 7 – Commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, for committing homicide knowing that children were present and may have seen or heard the murder, and did so based on Charlie Kirk’s political expression.

Gray further revealed his intent to seek the death penalty.

“I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney, based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”

During the press conference, additional details about the investigation and arrest of Tyler Robinson were revealed.

Gray shared a detailed sequence of events that led to Robinson’s arrest. He corrected previous accounts that Tyler’s father was the one who first recognized his son in police photos. It was Tyler’s mother who saw her son’s resemblance to the pictures and questioned him. When she shared her concerns with her husband, he agreed that the photos looked like their son.

Tyler’s father also recognized the recovered rifle as one that had been given to Tyler as a gift. Text messages indicate that the rifle once belonged to Tyler’s grandfather.

Mr. Robinson reached out to his son, who told him that he intended to take his own life. Tyler’s parents convinced him to meet with them at their home, and during that conversation, he implied that he was the shooter.

When questioned by his parents about why he shot Charlie Kirk, Tyler responded, “There’s so much evil in the guy. He spreads too much hate.” Tyler shared similar sentiments in a text message exchange with his roommate. “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Tyler texted.

Tyler Robinson, accompanied by his parents and a family friend, turned himself in to the authorities.

Numerous text messages were retrieved from the devices of Robinson’s roommate in the days that followed. In those messages, Tyler admitted to the shooting and detailed the events leading up to it and the aftermath. He wrote of hiding his gun, changing clothing, his escape, and his desire to keep “the secret until I died of old age.”

Prior to listing the formal charges made against Robinson, Attorney Gray reminded viewers that despite his admission, Robinson is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Robinson made his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon by video from the Utah County Jail where he is being held.

Robinson remained silent and emotionless throughout the hearing as Judge Tony Graf read his charges listed above. The defendant occasionally nodded to acknowledge that he had heard what was being said, but otherwise showed no reaction.

Judge Graf revealed that Robinson’s next court date, also to be attended virtually, is September 29. An attorney will be appointed to Robinson by the court and approved prior to that court date.

The state announced that it had filed a pre-trial protective order on behalf of Erika Kirk, which the judge approved.

According to Utah law, a pre-trial protective order restricts the defendant from threatening “to commit or commit acts of domestic violence or abuse, engage in any other conduct that would place the protected person or designated family or household members in reasonable fear of bodily
injury” by means of harassment, stalking, or threatening.