Charlie Kirk's accused assassin faces initial court hearing, formal charges in Utah

The trade school student suspected of assassinating right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university was due in court on Tuesday to face formal charges, appearing by video feed from jail for his first public appearance since the shooting.

Tyler Robinson, 22, is accused of firing the single rifle shot from a rooftop sniper's nest that pierced Kirk's neck last Wednesday on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.

The killing, captured in graphic video clips that went viral on the internet, sparked denunciations of political violence across the ideological spectrum but also unleashed a wave of partisan blame-casting and concerns that Kirk's murder might beget more bloodshed.

Authorities have offered no possible motive for the killing, though Kirk's wife and other supporters were quick to cast him as a martyr for their cause.

Kirk, co-founder and head of the conservative student movement Turning Point USA and a key ally of President Donald Trump, was speaking at an event attended by 3,000 people when he was gunned down. He died later at a hospital. He was 31.

The suspect, a third-year student of an electrical apprenticeship at a state technical college, initially escaped in the pandemonium following the shooting.

He was arrested on Thursday night at his parents' house, some 260 miles (420 km) southwest of the crime scene, after relatives and a family friend alerted authorities that Robinson had implicated himself in the shooting, according to Governor Spencer Cox.

Robinson was booked into Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, a felony weapons offense, and obstruction of justice, according to an affidavit filed by investigators.

Cox said the state would be inclined to seek the death penalty should Robinson be convicted, but that prosecutors would consider the wishes of Kirk's family before making that decision.

The killing has unnerved Americans who have seen a spike in political violence in recent years, including two attempted assassinations of Trump last year and the assassination of a Democratic state lawmaker in Minnesota this summer, among many other high-profile examples.

Roughly two out of three Americans believe that harsh rhetoric common in politics is encouraging violence, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the days following Kirk's murder.

First new glimpse of suspect

Robinson was scheduled to appear via video feed from jail on Tuesday afternoon in Utah County Justice Court in Provo.

The Utah County district attorney planned to hold a news briefing to explain the charges a few hours before the hearing. Newly filed court documents accompanying the charges may contain additional information about evidence in the investigation.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Department of Justice would review the case separately to determine whether federal charges should be pursued.

"And of course, if we do, we will also indict and work hand-in-hand with the state to ensure that this horrible human being faces the maximum extent of the law," Bondi told Fox News on Monday.

The governor said on Friday that in addition to the role played by Robinson's own family in turning him in, investigators had linked the suspect to the crime through security camera footage and evidence gathered from his social media profile.

On Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel went further in a Fox News interview, saying investigators had uncovered a text message posted by Robinson before last Wednesday's shooting saying he planned to kill Kirk.

Separately, the Washington Post reported on Monday that Robinson had sent a message via the online platform Discord to friends apparently confessing to the crime on Thursday night, shortly before he was arrested.

Patel said Robinson also is believed to have written a physical note saying he had the "opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk" and would do so.

Although that note was destroyed, investigators have collected forensic evidence that it existed and confirmed its contents through interviews, Patel said.

Patel did not say who had received the text message or whether anyone had seen the written note before the attack.

Investigators have spoken to Robinson's roommate, who was also a romantic partner, officials have said. Cox described the roommate as "a male transitioning to female," and said the roommate has been "incredibly cooperative."

Law enforcement authorities have said they believe Robinson acted alone but are looking into whether anyone else had a hand in plotting the killing or knew in advance of Robinson's intentions.

Patel told Fox News that DNA matching the suspect's was found on a towel that was wrapped around the bolt-action rifle believed to be the murder weapon and on a screwdriver found on the rooftop used by the shooter as a sniper perch. 

FBI chief Patel defends tenure amid Kirk shooting

Patel appeared before a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday, where he was set to face sharp questions about his handling of the investigation into the murder of Kirk and the decision not to release investigative files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Patel’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee came as critics, including some allies of Trump, have questioned his leadership of the most prominent U.S. law enforcement agency.

Patel offered a broad defense of his tenure, touting what he said was an increase in FBI arrests for violent crime and seizures of illegal guns. "I'm not going anywhere," Patel said during his opening statement, adding that he was focused on building public trust and increasing transparency.

Patel drew scrutiny from current and former U.S. officials after inaccurately posting on social media on Wednesday that the person responsible for the shooting of Kirk, an important leader of the young conservative movement, was in custody.

The FBI later clarified that at that point two individuals had been questioned and released.

The actual suspect, Tyler Robinson, was not arrested until Thursday night.

The initial post sparked confusion at a moment of soaring political tensions in the U.S. "Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk's assassin that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement at a critical stage of an investigation," Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said at the start of the hearing.

"Director Patel has already inflicted untold damage on the FBI, putting our national security and public safety at risk."

Trump publicly defended Patel’s handling of the probe.