Prosecutors Say Alleged Charlie Kirk Gunman Wrote: ‘I Had Enough of His Hatred’

The Washington Post

12:28 JST, September 17, 2025

The man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week in Utah admitted to killing him, telling people that the right-wing figure was propagating hate and saying he seized a chance to take him out, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Prosecutors wrote in the court papers that Tyler Robinson, 22, targeted Kirk because of his “belief or perception regarding Charlie Kirk’s political expression.” Robinson was formally charged Tuesday with aggravated murder and six other counts, and prosecutors quickly declared they would seek the death penalty in the case.

Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot in the neck during an appearance on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday. His death prompted a sweeping manhunt in Utah that ended late the next day, when Robinson surrendered at a sheriff’s office hundreds of miles from the Utah Valley University campus.

In the court filing, prosecutors said Robinson had criticized Kirk both before and after the shooting. Officials allege that following Kirk’s death, Robinson confessed to people around him, said he had planned the attack in advance and initially hoped to elude capture.

After the attack, prosecutors said, Robinson’s roommate found a note under his keyboard stating: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

Hours after he was charged, Robinson appeared virtually for a brief court hearing. He spoke only to say his own name and appeared impassive throughout the proceeding, while Judge Tony F. Graf detailed the charges.

Graf said Robinson would remain held without bail and be given a court-appointed attorney. Robinson appeared on video from a special housing unit at a local jail wearing a bulky suicide-prevention smock.

Prosecutors say the attacker confessed and cited Kirk’s ‘hatred’

The court papers filed Tuesday in Utah revealed details about the investigation into Kirk’s killing. Prosecutors said Robinson had confessed separately to his father and roommate, both of whom responded by asking why he killed Kirk.

“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson wrote to his roommate in a text message, according to the court filing. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Still, while prosecutors painted Robinson as disdainful of Kirk’s rhetoric, they stopped short of going into specific detail about what investigators think motivated the shooting. The court documents reported that Robinson’s mother said that he “had become more political and had started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented.” She also said Robinson had been dating his roommate, “a biological male who was transitioning genders,” the filing stated.

Asked directly if transgender issues played a role in motivating the shooting, Utah County Attorney General Jeff Gray declined to respond, saying he would stick to what was laid out in the court filing. “I think that is pretty much set forth there,” he said.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) had said Sunday that Robinson has “a leftist ideology,” but he did not elaborate. It was unclear if Cox’s comments referred to Robinson’s alleged views on gay and transgender people; his office did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Authorities have said that after Kirk was killed, they found rounds etched with inscriptions, including one that allegedly said: “Hey Fascist! Catch!”

Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said in an interview Tuesday that Robinson’s motive was still being investigated.

“He expressed some of that motivation to his family,” Mason said. “He said he didn’t agree with Kirk’s views and he felt Kirk was spreading hatred. This was a politically motivated assassination based on his hatred of Charlie Kirk.”

Robinson’s parents recognized him – and a familiar rifle, prosecutors say

Investigators cast a wide net after Kirk was killed, poring over video footage, knocking on nearby doors and begging the public for help in locating the attacker. They also circulated photos, saying they depicted the suspected attacker in the case.

According to the court filing on Tuesday, Robinson’s parents thought the person in the images looked like their son. Law enforcement officials had also publicly described the type of rifle they believe was used in the attack. Robinson’s father believed that matched one his son received as a gift, prosecutors said.

Robinson’s mother called him the day after Kirk was killed and asked where he was, officials say. “He said he was at home sick and that he had also been at home sick on September 10th,” the day Kirk was killed, the court filing said.

When Robinson’s father spoke to him, prosecutors said, “Robinson implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn’t go to jail and just wanted to end it.” He allegedly also “explained there is too much evil and the guy [Charlie Kirk] spreads too much hate,” prosecutors wrote.

Eventually, prosecutors said, Robinson was convinced to speak to a retired deputy sheriff who is a family friend, and this person convinced him to turn himself in. Mason said officials were not identifying the retired officer, a potential witness in the case.

In text messages, Robinson described planning an attack and hoping to get away with it, prosecutors say

The court filing on Tuesday also quotes extensively from a text message exchange officials said Robinson had with his roommate. Investigators said the roommate shared those messages with police.

The first message allegedly came the day Kirk was killed, when the roommate was told to look under Robinson’s keyboard and found the note about taking out Kirk.

Police later found a photograph of the note, prosecutors said, though they did not specify if this was taken by Robinson’s roommate or located another way.

In the messages that followed the note’s discovery, prosecutors allege, Robinson quickly admitted to the shooting.

“To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age,” he allegedly wrote in one message. “I am sorry to involve you.”

Robinson said he had been planning the shooting for “a bit over a week I believe” and described believing that if he could retrieve the rifle, “I will have left no evidence,” prosecutors added.

In the messages laid out in the court filing, Robinson is quoted telling his roommate to delete the text messages and not to speak with police. Prosecutors charged Robinson on Tuesday with two counts of witness tampering, citing both messages.

Cox said earlier this week that Robinson’s roommate had been cooperating with authorities. The Post has been unable to reach the roommate.

The Washington Post reported Monday that Robinson appeared to have also confessed to friends in an online chat on the platform Discord before turning himself in last week. While authorities have said they believe Robinson acted alone, FBI Director Kash Patel testified Tuesday on Capitol Hill that the bureau was investigating “anyone and everyone involved” in the Discord chats.

Bullet casing messages ‘are mostly a big meme,’ Robinson allegedly wrote

Following Kirk’s death, the etchings on bullet casings prompted intense scrutiny online. They appeared to evoke the type of rhetoric familiar among online and video game culture. In a text message to his roommate, investigators said, Robinson said inscriptions were “mostly a big meme.”

One of the etchings – spelled out in court papers as “NoTices Bulge, OWO What’s This?” – seemed to reference a comic making fun of furry role-players that has become an online meme.

After the shooting, investigators said, Robinson wrote to his roommate that if he saw the message on Fox News, he “might have a stroke.”

Robinson’s next court appearance is set for Sept. 29.