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Tyler Robinson, alleged would-be assassin of Charlie Kirk, appeared in court for the first time wearing a suicide vest, charged with the capital murder of the conservative figure.
Robinson, 22, presented a stoic demeanor with untidy facial hair as he participated in a court session via video link from Provo, Utah, on Tuesday afternoon.
He spoke only to confirm his identity, and gave a solemn nod as the short hearing closed.
The charges Robinson is facing are severe, including one of capital murder, related to the shooting of Kirk, 31, at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on September 10.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that they plan to seek the death penalty for the alleged murderer if convicted.
No bail was granted for Robinson, who will remain in custody until his next court appearance on September 29, as Judge Tony Graf approved a pre-trial request for a protective order for Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s wife.
He is accused of murdering Kirk because he was unhappy with the right-wing media star’s stances on gay and transgender rights.
Robinson reportedly expressed to law enforcement, ‘Some hatred cannot be negotiated with’ when questioned about his motive for targeting the conservative influencer, according to FBI Director Kash Patel in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday morning.
Tyler Robinson, 22, stared stonily at a screen as he made his first court appearance for the murder of Charlie Kirk on Tuesday
He spoke only once – to confirm his identity, and then gave a short nod as the hearing closed
Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, 31, in the neck at a Utah Valley University event in Orem on September 10
Director Patel mentioned that throughout the lengthy investigation into Kirk’s murder, which was captured on camera, the FBI and local law enforcement interviewed witnesses. These interviews revealed that Robinson ‘essentially admitted’ to the crime involving the 31-year-old victim.
DNA from a towel that was wrapped around the firearm used to kill Kirk was also a match for the suspect, Patel said.
Robinson’s family and friends are now cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
His girlfriend, a trans woman named Lance Twiggs, even handed over incriminating text messages in which the alleged killer reportedly confessed to the roommate after Kirk’s murder and said ‘I’m sorry.’
Robinson allegedly texted Twiggs after the murder saying: ‘Drop what you’re doing, look under my keyboard.’
The roommate then found a note that read: ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it’, cops found a picture of the note, Gray said.
When Twiggs later pointed out that police had taken someone else into custody for the murder, Robinson allegedly replied: ‘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,’ he allegedly added.
Robinson is now facing seven charges in connection with Kirk’s murder
Robinson is said to have confessed to his roommate after Kirk’s murder and said ‘I’m sorry’ while asking her to scrub all evidence of their text messages
Robinson allegedly told the roommate that he had been planning the killing for about a week.
‘Delete this exchange,’ the alleged killer then told the roommate, according to authorities.
‘Don’t talk to the media please or make any comments, if any police asks questions just ask for a lawyer and stay silent,’ Robinson allegedly instructed Twiggs.
Charging documents obtained by the Daily Mail further claim Robinson told his girlfriend: ‘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.’
When asked how long he had been planning it for, Robinson is said to have responded: ‘A bit over a week I believe.’
Robinson is also alleged to have referenced engraving bullets, and investigators have said they uncovered unspent rounds with anti-fascist and pro-trans ideologies inscribed on them.
‘Remember how I was engraving bullets? The f***** messages are mostly a big meme, if I see ‘notices bulges’ on Fox News I might have a stroke’, Robinson allegedly said.
Robinson had been in a relationship with his transgender roommate, Lance Twiggs
Robinson is alleged to have referenced engraving bullets, investigators said they uncovered unspent rounds with anti-fascist and pro-trans ideologies inscribed on them
One of the bullets was engraved with ‘Notices bulge OwO, what’s this?’, a meme used to troll ‘furries’ and transgender people.
Furries are a community who adopt anthropomorphized animal personas, sometimes in a sexual context.
The website ‘Know Your Meme’ points to the phrase reportedly engraved on the bullet being used online to troll furries.
OWO is intended to represent a wide-eyed face of surprise, with ‘notices bulge’ referring to the male appendage.
Another engraving said ‘Hey Fascists! Catch’, alongside an up arrow, a right arrow symbol and another three arrows pointing downwards.
Social media users have pointed to a video game called Helldivers 2, a 2024 shooter game.
A code to call in an airstrike in the game requires the player to hit up, right, followed by hitting down three times.
Another was engraved with the words of prominent Italian anti-fascist song ‘Bella Ciao’, which is dedicated to the Italian resistance who fought against Nazism.
The song has also seen a recent uptake in interest after being heavily featured in the Netflix series Money Heist.
The final unfired casing was inscribed with: ‘If you read this you are gay LMAO’, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has said. LMAO is an internet acronym for ‘laughing my ass off’.
There is no suggestion Twiggs knew what was going to happen and she has not been charged with any crime.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray revealed that Robinson confessed to his parents about murdering Kirk
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray revealed that Robinson confessed to his parents about murdering Kirk, telling them: ‘There is too much evil, and the guy spreads too much hate.’
Robinson’s family are MAGA Republicans, but Robinson had become more left wing in the year before Kirk’s murder and slammed Kirk over his stances on LGBT rights, it is claimed.
Charging documents say that his mother had seen the photo shared by authorities and immediately thought they looked like her son.
After calling Robinson, he is said to have told her he was at home and unwell, and had been the day when Kirk was gunned down.
Still, the documents say this did nothing to quell her suspicions, and she raised her concerns with his father who agreed with her.
She explained to investigators that in the last year her son had become increasing more political, and started expressing left wing views – including pro-gay and trans-rights messaging.
Authorities released this image last week as they ramped up the search for the suspect, with Robinson’s parents seeing it and believing it was their son
After Robinson and Twiggs started dating, their relationship resulted in discussions between family members – especially between his father due to their differing views.
One of those conversations, according to his mother, involved Robinson specifically mentioning Kirk and the event at the university, which he said was a ‘stupid venue’ and accused Kirk of spreading hate.
After Robinson’s father saw the surveillance grab, he also believed that the rifle used matched a gun he had given Robinson as a gift.
His father then got in touch and asked him to send him a picture of it, but Robinson never responded, the documents say.
After a phone call between the two eventually happened, Robinson laid out plans to commit suicide, his parents said they were able to convince him to meet them.
During that discussion, Robinson is said to have implied he was the shooter and said he didn’t want to go to jail so wished instead to take his own life.
Developing story, check back for updates…
