Tyler Robinson’s motive for why he allegedly assassinated TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk may be more important during the sentencing phase as prosecutors will try to “dirty up” the suspect in hopes that jurors return a death sentence, according to a former assistant U.S. attorney.
Robinson is accused of assassinating Kirk during a TPUSA event on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley Univerisity in Orem, Utah, officials said. He’s been charged with aggravated murder, two counts of obstruction of justice and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.
Officials claim Robinson allegedly said he killed Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” adding that “some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Court documents indicate that Robinson texted his roommate, Lance Twiggs, asking him to “look under my keyboard.”
Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on Sept.10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“The Utah County prosecutor is going to try to put Robinson to death and the motive for the killing is going to be something that is key evidence in the case. It’s going to dirty up Robinson,” Rahmani said.
Robinson will only face the death sentence if 12 out of 12 jurors agree he should be killed for his alleged crimes, which only makes it more important for prosecutors to outline a clear, detailed motive, Rahmani said.
“To the extent that the prosecution has to get 12 out of 12 jurors to return that death sentence. The motive for the crime will be an important reason why the prosecution may get there,” he said. “So when jurors are weighing the death penalty, the reason why someone killed another human being, if it was for political reasons, that’s certainly an aggravated factor.”
“Even one or two jurors could save Tyler Robinson’s life. And just from a pure numbers perspective, there are some people that have a difficult time looking another human being in the eye and giving them lethal injection or the firing squad,” Rahmani added. “The other possibility, of course, is they try to defend the case in the guilt phase. It’s going to be very hard to defend, but they’ll have to argue some sort of radicalization.”
Law enforcement officials work near the crime scene where political activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 11, 2025. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
While Robinson’s attorney, Kathryn Nester, hasn’t yet responded to prosecutors’ claims on why their client killed Kirk, she said during a Monday court hearing that the defense is reserving the right to call for a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors would be forced to disclose evidence and allow for cross-examination before the case proceeds.
Robinson is due back in court on Oct. 30.
