Washington DC [US], September 17: Utah prosecutors said on Tuesday they will seek the death penalty for the suspect in conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination and revealed some of the evidence against him, including alleged text messages in which he appeared to confess to the crime.
He 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.
Utah County District Attorney Jeffrey Gray said at a press conference that his office had filed seven counts against Robinson on Tuesday, including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice for disposing of evidence and witness tampering for asking his roommate to delete texts implicating him.
Gray said he had made the decision to seek the death penalty "independently, based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime." Some politicians, including U.S. President Donald Trump, had called for the death penalty in the case.
The killing, captured in graphic video clips that went viral on the internet, sparked denunciations of political violence, opens new tab across the ideological spectrum but also unleashed a wave of partisan blame-casting and concerns that Kirk's murder might beget more bloodshed.
The suspect was scheduled to appear via video feed from jail later on Tuesday in Utah County Justice Court in Provo.
In court filings on Tuesday, prosecutors began to lay out the case against Robinson, who was at large for more than 30 hours before eventually turning himself into authorities.
On the day of the shooting, Robinson texted his roommate, the charging document said, telling him to look for a note under his keyboard. The roommate, whom officials have also described as Robinson's romantic partner who was transitioning from male to female, found the note, which read, "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it."
In later text messages, Robinson said he wished he had gone back and grabbed the rifle that he left in a bush immediately following the killing.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
