Court documents reveal how Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson allegedly confessed
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Key moments that led to the identification and arrest of the man accused of murdering Charlie Kirk in an allegedly politically motivated assassination have been laid out in detail in fresh court documents released by United States authorities.Charlie Kirk shooting suspect charged with murder
Utah prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for the 22-year-old alleged shooter.
Tyler James Robinson, 22, is accused of shooting right-wing political activist and commentator Mr Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem on September 10.
He was formally charged and appeared in court on Tuesday, local time, on counts of aggravated murder, committing a violence offence in the presence of a child, discharging a firearm causing a serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice and tampering with a witness.
A charge sheet filed by County Attorney Jeffrey S Gray in the District Court of Utah has shed light on the investigation into the shooting and revealed a text message exchange between Mr Robinson and a roommate in which he confessed to killing Mr Kirk.
Here is what the documents reveal.
Alleged confession to lover
Utah attorneys allege Mr Robinson was involved in a romantic relationship with his roommate, who the charge sheet describes as “a biological male who was transitioning genders”, who received a text message from the accused shooter on the day of Mr Kirk’s killing.
“Drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard,”
the message allegedly said.
The court documents say that the roommate found a note under Mr Robinson’s keyboard that said: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
Authorities claim that the following text exchange then occurred between the pair, with the roommate later passing the messages onto the police investigation of Mr Kirk’s death.
Robinson: 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.
Roommate: you weren’t the one who did it right????
Robinson: I am, I’m sorry
Roommate: 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. Its quiet, almost enough to get out, but theres one vehicle lingering.
Roommate: Why?
Robinson: Why did I do it?
Roommate: Yeah
Robinson: I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out. If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence. Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven’t seen anything about them finding it.
Roommate: How long have you been planning this?
Robinson: a bit over a week I believe. 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
Robinson: I’m wishing I had circled back and grabbed it as soon as I got to my vehicle. … I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle … idek if it had a serial number, but it wouldn’t trace to me. I worry about prints I had to leave it in a bush where I changed outfits. didn’t have the ability or time to bring it with. … 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.
Only thing I left was the rifle wrapped in a towel.
Remember how I was engraving bullets? The f***in messages are mostly a big meme, if I see “notices bulge uwu” on fox new I might have a stroke
Alright im gonna have to leave it, that really f***ing sucks.
Judging from today I’d say grandpas gun does just fine idk. I think that was a $2k scope ;-;
Robinson: delete this exchange
Robinson: my dad wants photos of the rifle … he says grandpa wants to know who has what, the feds released a photo of the rifle, and it is very unique. Hes calling me rn, not answering.
Robinson: since trump got into office [my dad] has been pretty diehard maga.
Robinson: Im gonna turn myself in willingly, one of my neighbors here is a deputy for the sheriff.
Robinson: you are all I worry about love
Roommate: I’m much more worried about you
Robinson: don’t talk to the media please. don’t take any interviews or make any comments. … if any police ask you questions ask for a lawyer and stay silent
Robinson’s parents recognised the rifle
A day after Mr Kirk’s death, Mr Robinson handed himself into authorities at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office alongside his parents and a family friend who had convinced him to give himself up, the court documents say.Figure seen on roof after Charlie Kirk shooting
Verified videos taken at the scene of the shooting of high-profile right-wing activist Charlie Kirk show what appears to be a figure on the roof of a nearby building.
Authorities allege that Mr Robinson’s mother saw an image in the news that police were circulating on September 11 of the shooter and thought it looked like her son.
The charge sheet alleges that Mr Robinson’s father agreed with the likeness and believed that the rifle police suspected had been used in the assassination matched a gun that the 22-year-old had been gifted.
“Robinson’s mother explained that over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to the left — becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” the court documents say.
“She stated that Robinson began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders. This resulted in several discussions with family members, but especially between Robinson and his father, who have very different political views.
“In one conversation before the shooting, Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk would be holding an event at UVU, which Robinson said was a ‘stupid venue’ for the event. Robinson accused Kirk of spreading hate.”
The documents allege that Mr Robinson implied he would take his own life during a phone conversation with his father, and was then convinced to meet with a family friend and a retired deputy sheriff.
“As they discussed the situation, Robinson implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn’t go to jail and just wanted to end it,” the charge sheet says.
“When asked why he did it, Robinson explained there is too much evil and the guy [Charlie Kirk] spreads too much hate.”
The charges against Robinson
Mr Robinson has been formally charged with seven counts relating to Mr Kirk’s death.
The charges come after an extensive investigation of the roommate text exchange, CCTV video from the university campus, the location of the rifle in a nearby wooded area, and a positive DNA match linking the weapon, ammunition and a towel to the alleged shooter.
Rounds in the rifle were allegedly etched with messages like “Hey Fascist! Catch!” and lyrics of the anti-Nazi and anti-Fascist Italian folk song Bella Ciao.
Authorities say that a later search of Mr Robinson’s home also uncovered an additional firearm shell casing etched with similar messages, and targets with bullet holes in them.
The 22-year-old is accused of the aggravated murder of Mr Kirk, the discharge of a weapon “ultimately resulting in [Mr Kirk”s] death”, the obstruction of justice by hiding the rifle and changing his clothing on September 10, the tampering of a witness by directing his roommate to not share his confession, and committing a violent offence at an event attended by children under the age of 14.
The highest punishment a charge of aggravated murder can attract in Utah is the death penalty, which state authorities have signalled they will be pursuing for Mr Robinson.
National guard begins deploying on DC streets after Trump police takeover
This article is more than 5 months old
Troops appeared in US capital Tuesday night as president’s move is widely condemned as an authoritarian power grab
David Smith in WashingtonWed 13 Aug 2025 12.54 BSTShare
The Washington DC national guard began deploying on the city’s streets on Tuesday night, as the city’s mayor toughened her response to Donald Trump taking control of the city’s police force.
The unusual federalization of law enforcement in the US capital began a day after the president ordered the troops’ arrival, calling Washington DC a “lawless” city, despite official crime statistics saying otherwise, a White House official confirmed.
Muriel Bowser, the Democratic mayor of Washington, hardened her stance on Tuesday night after treading a more diplomatic line earlier in the day. During a live town hall type event on social media on Tuesday night, she described the arrival of federalized national guard as an authoritarian push.
Bowser called on DC residents and voters to overcome Trump’s move and urged them “to protect our city, to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule and get to the other side of this guy and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push”.
Defense officials had earlier said a small number of the roughly 800 guard members planned for the mission had already been mobilized by Tuesday afternoon, with more expected to arrive in the coming days.
About 850 officers and agents took part in a “massive law enforcement surge” across Washington DC on Monday night and made nearly two dozen arrests, the White House has said. The violent crime rate in Washington DC is at a 30-year low.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday: “As part of the president’s massive law enforcement surge, last night approximately 850 officers and agents were surged across the city. They made a total of 23 arrests, including multiple other contacts.”
The arrests consisted of homicide, firearms offences, possession with intent to distribute narcotics, fare evasion, lewd acts and stalking, Leavitt added. “A total of six illegal handguns were seized off of District of Columbia’s streets as part of last night’s effort.”
Leavitt added: “This is only the beginning. Over the course of the next month, the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue and arrest every violent criminal in the district who breaks the law, undermines public safety and endangers law-abiding Americans.”
The press secretary also told reporters that homeless people have the option to be taken to a homeless shelter and offered addiction and mental health services. “If they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time. These are pre-existing laws that are already on the books. They have not been enforced.”
Trump’s intervention has been widely condemned as an authoritarian power grab that undermines the autonomy of Washington’s DC local government and seeks to distract attention from political problems such as the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Bowser had earlier pledged to work “side by side” with the federal government as national guard troops arrived at their headquarters in the capital.
Speaking after a meeting with the attorney general, Pam Bondi, at the justice department, Bowser told reporters: “You will see the Metropolitan police department (MPD) working side by side with our federal partners in order to enforce the effort that we need around the city.”
On Tuesday night she pushed back harder against Trump’s couching of Washington DC as a city afflicted with crime and homelessness to the point that it is a crisis requiring federal intervention.
Bowser said the issue of homeless people on some DC streets “triggers something” in Trump “that has him believing that our very beautiful city is dirty, which it is not”.
She went on, referring to the population of the city, which itself is small despite supporting a massive federal workforce in the region: “We are not 700,000 scumbags and punks.”
Bowser has up to now cultivated a delicate working relationship with Trump since his return to power in January, avoiding direct confrontations when possible.
She said after the meeting with Bondi: “What I’m focused on is the federal surge and how to make the most of the additional officer support that we have. We have the best in the business at MPD and chief Pamela Smith to lead that effort and to make sure that the men and women who are coming from federal law enforcement are being well used and that, if there is national guard here, that they’re being well used and all in an effort to drive down crime.”
Other Democratic mayors across the country had warned Trump against expanding his law and order power grab in other major cities.
Trump told reporters on Monday: “We have other cities also that are bad,” citing the Democratic strongholds of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. “And then, of course, you have Baltimore and Oakland. You don’t even mention them any more, they’re so far gone.”
‘Hyperbolic and false’: Trump’s portrayal of crime in Washington DC has little to do with factsRead more
Stephen Miller, an influential White House deputy chief of staff, stepped up the rhetoric on Tuesday, tweeting without evidence: “Crime stats in big blue cities are fake. The real rates of crime, chaos & dysfunction are orders of magnitude higher. Everyone who lives in these areas knows this. They program their entire lives around it. Democrats are trying to unravel civilization. Pres Trump will save it.”
All five cities named by Trump are run by Black mayors. Most were outspoken in denouncing the president’s move. Brandon Johnson, Chicago’s mayor, said in a statement: “Sending in the national guard would only serve to destabilize our city and undermine our public safety efforts.”
Brandon Scott, the mayor of Baltimore, said: “When it comes to public safety in Baltimore, he should turn off the rightwing propaganda and look at the facts. Baltimore is the safest it’s been in over 50 years.”
Barbara Lee, the mayor of Oakland, wrote on X: “President Trump’s characterization of Oakland is wrong and based in fear-mongering in an attempt to score cheap political points.”
Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, where troops were sent earlier this month in a crackdown on protests, posted: “Another experiment by the Administration, another power grab from local government. This is performative. This is a stunt. It always has been and always will be.”
Trump took command of the Washington DC police department and deployed the national guard under laws and constitutional powers that give the federal government more sway over the nation’s capital than other cities. But Democrats raised concerns that Washington DC could be a blueprint for similar strong-arm tactics elsewhere.
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, warned that Trump “will gaslight his way into militarising any city he wants in America”.
JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, said the president “has absolutely no right and no legal ability to send troops into the city of Chicago, and so I reject that notion”.
Coral Murphy Marcos and Joanna Walters contributed reporting
