New evidence points towards a potential motive for Tyler Robinson's suspected shooting of Charlie Kirk.
The suspect was charged with aggravated murder at a press conference yesterday (16 September), with prosecutors saying they'd be seeking the death penalty.
Robinson's six other charges include two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, felony discharge of a firearm, and commission of a violent offence in the presence of a child.
Kirk, a conservative political activist, was shot during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on 10 September, with around 3,000 in attendance.
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More evidence has been released by prosecutors, as texts between the suspect and his roommate instructed the latter to 'delete' messages sent.
Among the messages are claims from the 22-year-old that he was the one responsible for killing Kirk.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray read out the alleged messages between the two, revealing that the roommate had come clean with the exchange to the authorities.
In the messages, Robinson reportedly told his roommate that authorities 'grabbed some crazy old dude then interrogated someone in similar clothing' though he would plan to 'turn myself in willingly'.
In the exchange, he also instructed his roommate to look under his keyboard, where there was a note that said 'I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it'.
When the partner asked if Robinson was the one responsible, he allegedly replied: “I am, I’m sorry.”
The roommate then asked why he shot the activist, with the 22-year-old speaking about how he couldn't retrieve the rifle he used.
When asked about his reasoning, Robinson supposedly wrote: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out. If I’m 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.”
According to the messages, he then explained that he was planning the attack for 'a bit over a week' before noting that a squad car was near the spot he stashed the weapon.
After speaking about what his dad would do if he didn't bring his granddad's rifle back, he supposedly added: “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?”
Another message reportedly showed Robinson talking about the engraved bullet casings, which he described as being 'mostly a big meme'.
According to Gray, Robinson's mother apparently told police that her son's political views had become more left-wing in the last year, becoming 'more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented'. In contrast, the suspect described his father as 'pretty die-hard MAGA' since the re-election of Trump into office.
Topics: Charlie Kirk, Crime, US News, Tyler Robinson
Joshua Nair