He is accused of firing the single rifle shot from a rooftop 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.

The office of Utah County District Attorney Jeffrey Gray charged Robinson with seven criminal counts on Tuesday, including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice for disposing of evidence and witness tampering for asking his roommate to delete incriminating texts.

Some politicians, including U.S. President Donald Trump, have called for capital punishment in the case.

At a press conference, 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.”

Robinson made an initial court appearance on Tuesday afternoon via video feed from jail, unshaven and wearing a suicide prevention smock.

He remained expressionless but appeared to listen attentively as the judge read the charges and informed him that he could face the death penalty.

The defendant spoke only once, when asked to state his name. Finding Robinson unable to afford legal counsel, Utah Fourth District Judge Tony Graf said he would appoint a defense attorney before the next court hearing, set for September 29.

In the meantime, he was ordered to remain held without bond in the Washington County Jail, where, according to a sheriff’s spokesperson, he has been placed under a “special watch protocol” that includes increased supervision.

Kirk’s killing, captured in graphic video clips that went viral online, sparked denunciations of political violence, across the ideological spectrum but also unleashed a wave of partisan blame-casting and concerns that the murder might beget more bloodshed.

In court filings, prosecutors highlighted some of their evidence against Robinson, who was at large for more than 30 hours before eventually turning himself in.

Shortly after the shooting, prosecutors said, Robinson sent a text message telling his roommate to “drop what you’re doing, look under my keyboard.”

The roommate, whom officials have also described as Robinson’s romantic partner and transitioning from male to female, then found a physical note from Robinson that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

The roommate then asked Robinson in a text reply, “you weren’t the one who did it right????” Robinson responded: “I am, I’m sorry,” according to a transcript of the alleged dialogue.

When the roommate asked why he had shot Kirk, Robinson wrote back: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” He also asserted he had planned the attack for more than a week, prosecutors said.

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, noting it had belonged to his grandfather.

“I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle,” he wrote. “I might have to abandon it and hope they don’t find prints.”

DNA found on the trigger of the alleged murder weapon was linked to Robinson, prosecutors said.

Robinson, a third-year trade college student, turned himself the next day, after his parents saw images of the gunman and confronted him, according to the filings. Robinson implied that he wanted to take his own life, but his parents persuaded him to meet them at their home, where Robinson indicated he was the shooter.

Robinson ultimately decided to surrender to police after speaking at his parents’ urging with a family friend who is a retired deputy sheriff, prosecutors said.

“I’m much more worried about you,” he wrote the roommate after revealing he would give himself up. He also urged the roommate to delete the messages and to refuse to speak with police or the media.

The roommate, who was not identified in court papers, is cooperating with authorities, officials have said.

Robinson’s mother told police that over the past year her son had grown more left-leaning and more “pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” the charging document said.

The relationship with his roommate also led to “discussions” with relatives including his father, who holds “very different political views” from the suspect, according to the document.

Prosecutors added aggravating factors to the murder and firearm charges, alleging Robinson targeted Kirk based on political views and knew children would witness the killing. Under state law, only aggravated murder can carry the death penalty.

Kirk, 31, co-founder of the conservative student movement Turning Point USA and a key Trump ally, was speaking at an event attended by 3,000 people when he was gunned down.

Civil rights advocates have long criticized Kirk for rhetoric disparaging various marginalized groups, including Blacks, Muslims, immigrants, women and transgender people, and for embracing Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of a stolen election in 2020.

Kirk’s supporters describe him as a staunch defender of conservative values and a champion of public debate who galvanized young voters through Turning Point, shaping the MAGA movement’s appeal to Gen Z voters.

Top administration officials have threatened to go after left-wing organizations in the wake of the assassination, which Trump blamed almost immediately on the “radical left.” Critics have expressed concern that Trump may use the killing as a pretext to crack down on his political opponents.

Roughly two out of three Americans believe that harsh rhetoric common in politics is encouraging violence.

The killing, captured in graphic video clips that went viral on the internet, sparked denunciations of political violence across the ideological spectrum but also unleashed a wave of partisan blame-casting and concerns that Kirk’s murder might beget more bloodshed.

Authorities have offered no possible motive for the killing, though Kirk’s wife and other supporters were quick to cast him as a martyr for their cause.

Kirk, co-founder and head of the conservative student movement Turning Point USA and a key ally of President Donald Trump, was speaking at an event attended by 3,000 people when he was gunned down. He died later at a hospital. He was 31.

The suspect, a third-year student of an electrical apprenticeship at a state technical college, initially made good on his getaway in the pandemonium of the shooting.

He was arrested on Thursday night at his parents’ house, some 260 miles (420 km) southwest of the crime scene, after relatives and a family friend alerted authorities that Robinson had implicated himself in the shooting, according to Governor Spencer Cox.

Capping a 33-hour-manhunt, Robinson was booked into Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, a felony weapons offense, and obstruction of justice, according to an affidavit filed by investigators.

Cox said the state would be inclined to seek the death penalty should Robinson be convicted but prosecutors would consider the wishes of Kirk’s family before making that decision.

Robinson was scheduled to be arraigned on formal charges on Tuesday afternoon in Utah County Justice Court in Provo, but the defendant will appear for the hearing by a video feed from the county lockup in nearby Spanish Fork, officials said.

The Utah County district attorney planned to hold a news briefing to explain the charges a few hours before the hearing. Newly filed court documents accompanying the charges may contain additional information about evidence in the investigation.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Department of Justice would review the case separately to determine whether federal charges should be pursued.

“And of course, if we do, we will also indict and work hand-in-hand with the state to ensure that this horrible human being faces the maximum extent of the law,” Bondi told Fox News on Monday.

The governor said on Friday that in addition to the role played by Robinson’s own family in turning him in, investigators had linked the suspect to the crime through security camera footage and evidence gathered from his social media profile.

On Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel went further in a Fox News interview, saying investigators had uncovered a text message posted by Robinson before last Wednesday’s shooting saying he planned to kill Kirk.

Separately, the Washington Post reported on Monday that Robinson had sent a message via the online platform Discord to friends apparently confessing to the crime on Thursday night, shortly before he was arrested.

Patel said Robinson also is believed to have written a physical note saying he had the “opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk” and would do so. Although that note was destroyed, investigators have collected forensic evidence that it existed and confirmed its contents through interviews, Patel said.

Patel did not say who had received the text message or whether anyone had seen the written note before the attack.

Law enforcement authorities have said they believe Robinson acted alone but are looking into whether anyone else had a hand in plotting the killing or knew in advance of Robinson’s intentions.

Patel told Fox News that DNA matching the suspect’s was found on a towel that was wrapped around the bolt-action rifle believed to be the murder weapon and on a screwdriver found on the rooftop used by the shooter as a sniper perch.

Utah’s governor said over the weekend that Robinson was not cooperating with authorities but investigators were interviewing friends and family to learn more about what may have precipitated the killing.

Cox, citing information from the FBI, said Robinson’s roommate was among those speaking with investigators.

The killing, captured in graphic detail in videos that rapidly spread around the internet, occurred as Kirk spoke onstage at an outdoor event called “Prove Me Wrong” in front of about 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.

The killer arrived on campus a few minutes before the event began, and could be seen on security-camera video ascending stairwells to get onto a nearby roof before firing at Kirk, according to the FBI and state officials.

Kirk, a staunch defender of gun rights, was answering an audience question about mass shootings when the bullet struck his neck; screaming audience members fled in panic.

The shooter jumped off the roof and fled into an adjoining neighborhood, Robert Bohls, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters.

Investigators found a “high-powered, bolt-action” rifle in a nearby wooded area, and were examining that along with palm prints and footprints for clues.

The shooter appears to be of college age and “blended in well” on the campus, Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason told reporters. The shooter has not been publicly identified, and while investigators said they had “good video footage,” they would not make that public for now.

Kirk, co-founder and president of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was pronounced dead at a local hospital hours later. His killing stirred immediate expressions of outrage and denunciations of political violence from Democrats, Republicans and foreign governments.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Kirk’s events on college campuses were part of a tradition of open political debate that was “foundational to the formation of our country, to our most basic constitutional rights.”

“When someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very constitutional foundation is threatened,” Cox said.

Trump said on Thursday he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Vice President JD Vance canceled his trip to New York to commemorate the attacks by al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, and instead will travel to Utah to visit Kirk’s family, a person familiar with the situation said.

Kirk began his career in conservative and right-wing politics as a teenager. A little more than a decade later, some of the friends he made along the way are now at the highest levels of U.S. government and media, with Vance recalling that he was in multiple group chats with Kirk.