Jessica SchreifelsUtah prosecutors this week outlined why they think the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk targeted the conservative commentator.
Kirk represented a “political movement” opposed to gay marriage and transgender rights, prosecutors wrote in a new court filing. They argue those beliefs stood in “stark contrast” to Tyler Robinson’s personal life — and motivated the fatal shooting.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray argued in the brief filed Monday that Robinson was in a romantic relationship with a man who at the time was exploring whether to transition genders, and texts show he that “he loved and cared deeply” for them.
That’s why, the county attorney argued, Robinson chose to kill Kirk. He specifically pointed to a text Robinson allegedly sent to his partner, writing he’d “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred.”
(Spenser Heaps | Pool) Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Thursday, July 9, 2026.
Gray argued that message and other evidence his team presented at a preliminary hearing earlier this month is strong enough for 4th District Judge Tony Graf to bind over Tyler Robinson’s case and move it toward trial.
He wrote that Robinson confessed to several friends — including his partner — that he assassinated Kirk, who was shot in front of thousands of witnesses.
Then, Robinson turned himself in for the crime. That along with DNA testing, surveillance video and other eyewitness accounts prove there was probable cause that Robinson was the shooter, Gray argued.
If the judge finds there is probable cause, Robinson will then enter a plea to charges and a trial date could be set.
“This is likely as straight-forward a bindover decision as this Court will ever see,” the county attorney wrote.
(Tess Crowley | Pool) Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray arrives at a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, at the 4th District Court in Provo on Friday, July 10, 2026.
Robinson’s defense team will file their response in the coming weeks.
The now-23-year-old Utah man is charged with aggravated murder and other crimes in connection with Kirk’s Sept. 10 death. The Utah County attorney’s office has said they’ll seek the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Not every homicide in Utah is eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors must show the crime was especially egregious. In Kirk’s killing, they have argued Robinson put others in danger when he used his grandfather’s rifle to fire a single shot from atop a Utah Valley University building toward a crowd of thousands gathered for Kirk’s Turning Point USA event.
He had three more bullets loaded into the rifle; Gray argued that means Robinson was prepared to keep firing.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police tape cordons off part of the roof of Utah Valley University's Losee Center in Orem after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event on campus on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
Prosecutors also argue Robinson disassembled the rifle in order to hide it in his pants as he walked through campus. That action could have affected his firing accuracy — a factor prosecutors argue Robinson likely knew — because reassembling it would have risked any previous setup he did to calibrate the rifle and scope.
The county attorney argued this shows Robinson knew he put others in the crowd at risk.
When prosecutors filed charges, they also filed a victim-targeting “enhancement,” which could increase the penalties for Robinson if he’s convicted. Gray’s arguments in the Monday filing are meant to support that enhancement.
Robinson is expected to be in court on Sept. 1, where attorneys will argue in-person about whether there is probable cause in the case.
