Suspect in Charlie Kirk shooting likely to face charges Tuesday before first court hearing
PROVO Utah AP Prosecutors are preparing to file a capital murder charge Tuesday against the Utah man who leadership say held a leftist ideology and may have been radicalized online before he was arrested in the assassination of Charlie Kirk Charges against -year-old Tyler Robinson are expected to come ahead of the first court hearing since he was accused last week of shooting Kirk a conservative activist credited with energizing the Republican youth movement and helping President Donald Trump win back the White House in Investigators have been piecing together evidence including a rifle and ammunition engraved with anti-fascist and meme practices messaging exposed after the shooting Wednesday at Utah Valley University in Orem Kirk was speaking there on one of his several campus visits where he relished debating just about everyone Prosecutors in Utah County are considering several charges against Robinson the most of serious being aggravated murder because it could bring the death penalty if there is a conviction Once charges are filed Robinson is scheduled to appear on camera for a virtual court hearing He has been held without bail since his arrest and it remained unclear whether he has an attorney While executives say Robinson hasn t been cooperating with investigators they do say his family and friends have been talking Utah Gov Spencer Cox mentioned over the weekend that those who know Robinson say his politics shifted left in new years and that he spent a lot of time in the dark corners of the internet FBI Director Kash Patel commented Monday on the Fox News show Fox Friends that DNA evidence has linked Robinson to a towel wrapped around a rifle identified near the Utah Valley campus and a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired Before the shooting Robinson wrote in a note that he had an opportunity to take out Kirk and was going to do it according to Patel Investigators are working on finding a motive for the attack Utah s governor commented Sunday adding that more information may come out once Robinson appears for his initial court hearing Cox revealed Robinson s romantic partner was transgender which particular politicians have pointed to as a sign the suspect was targeting Kirk for his anti-transgender views But administration have not yet reported whether that played a role Kirk was shot while taking a question that touched on mass shootings gun violence and transgender people Utah Department of Population Safety Commissioner Beau Mason explained Monday that Robinson s partner has been cooperative He commented investigators believe Robinson acted alone during the shooting but they also are looking at whether anyone knew of his plans beforehand In the days since Kirk s assassination Americans have ascertained themselves facing questions about rising political violence the deep divisions that brought the nation here and whether anything can change Despite calls for greater civility particular who opposed Kirk s provocative statements about gender race and politics criticized him after his death A large number of Republicans have led the push to punish anyone who they believe dishonored him causing both inhabitants and private workers to lose their jobs or face other consequences at work
