The Utah Attorney General's Office announced that it will seek the death penalty for 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who is charged with the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. According to evidence, he selected his victim based on political views and acted with the knowledge that the act would also be seen by children.
According to court documents, he confessed to the crime in a series of text messages to his roommate, who was also his partner. In the messages, he explained that he had planned the attack for a week and carried it out deliberately. “I'm sick of his hate,” he wrote.
He confessed shortly after the shooting when he told his roommate to “look under the keyboard” – where he had left a message saying he had the opportunity to “take Kirk out.” He also told him to delete messages and not talk to the police.
He fired the shots on the Utah Valley University campus, killing Kirk with a single shot from his grandfather's rifle. He then hid for more than 30 hours.
His parents helped solve the case by confronting him with the evidence. Robinson only turned himself in to the police after consulting with a family friend – a former deputy sheriff.
(reuters, est)