Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, has been formally charged with murder and other crimes, and prosecutors will seek the death penalty, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced at a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Robinson faces single counts of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and violent offense in the presence of a child, along with two counts each of obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
According to Gray, Robinson is charged with witness tampering because he allegedly instructed his roommate to delete incriminating texts and stay silent if he talked to law enfrocement.
Authorities have said Kirk was shot from the roof of a building about 200 yards away from where Kirk was speaking at a the Sept. 10 rally at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Robinson was arrested after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he confessed to a family member after they saw surveillance images released by the FBI, after which family friend turned him in to local authorities.
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Robinson, who does not have a previous criminal record, is registered to vote but has never cast a ballot in an election and is registered as “unaffiliated” with either party.
Cox said Robinson lived with a roommate who was also a romantic partner in St. George, Utah, over 250 miles away from Utah Valley’s campus in Orem.
The roommate, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, has been “very cooperative,” according to Cox, and provided investigators with Discord messages allegedly sent by Robinson with details related to the shooting.
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