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Prosecutor to Seek Death Penalty Against Kirk Shooting Suspect; Kirk Shooting Suspect Charged with Aggravated Murder. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 16, 2025 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

JEFF GRAY, UTAH COUNTY ATTORNEY: ... spreading hate.

Robinson's father reported that when his wife showed him the surveillance image of the suspected shooter in the news, he agreed that it looked like their son. He also believed that the rifle that police suspected the shooter used matched a rifle that was given to his son as a gift.

As a result, Robinson's father contacted his son and asked him to send a photo of the rifle. Robinson did not respond. However, Robinson's father spoke on the phone with Robinson.

Robinson implied that he planned to take his own life. Robinson's parents were able to convince him to meet at their home. As they discussed the situation, Robinson implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn't go to jail and just wanted to end it.

When asked why he did it, Robinson explained, there's too much evil and the guy -- referring to Charlie Kirk -- spreads too much hate. They talked about Robinson turning himself in and convinced Robinson to speak with a family friend who is a retired deputy sheriff. At Robinson's father's request, family friend met with Robinson and his parents and convinced Robinson to turn himself in.

The family friend spoke to police and reported telling Robinson that it would be best if he brought all evidence with him to the sheriff's office to avoid police having to search his parents home. The friend also asked Robinson if he had any clothes that were related to what he did. Robinson replied that he had disposed of the clothes in different areas.

The roommate -- police interviewed Robinson's roommate, a biological male who is was involved in a romantic relationship with Robinson. The roommate told police that the roommate received messages from Robinson about the shooting and he did provide those messages to police. On September 10th, 2025, the roommate received a text message from Robinson, which said, drop what you're doing, look under my keyboard.

The roommate looked under the keyboard and found a note that stated, quote, I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it. Police found a photograph of this note. The following exchange, text exchange then took place. After reading the note, the roommate responded, what? You're joking, right? Robinson, I am still OK, my love, but I'm stuck in Orem for a little while longer yet. Shouldn't be long until I can come home, but I got to grab my rifle still. To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.

Roommate, You weren't the one who did it, right?

Robinson, I am, I am, I'm sorry.

Roommate, I thought they caught the person.

Robinson, no, they grabbed some crazy old dude, then interrogated someone in similar clothing. I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. It's quiet, almost enough to get out, but there's one vehicle lingering.

Roommate, Why?

Robinson, Why did I do it?

Roommate, Yeah.

Robinson, I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out. If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence. Going to attempt to retrieve it again. Hopefully they have moved on. I haven't seen anything about them finding it.

Roommate, How long have you been planning this?

Robinson, A bit over a week, I believe. I can get close to it, but there is a squad car parked parked right by it. I think they already swept that spot, but I don't want to chance it.

Robinson, again, I'm wishing I had circled back and grabbed it as soon as I got to my vehicle. I'm worried what my old man would do if I didn't bring back grandpa's rifle.

IDEK, if it's had a serial number, but it wouldn't trace to me. I worry about prints. I had to leave it in a bush where I changed outfits, didn't have the ability or time to bring it with.

[14:35:00]

I might have to abandon it and hope they don't find prints. How the F will I explain losing it to my old man? Only thing I left was the rapple -- was the rifle wrapped in a towel. Remember how it was engraving bullets.

The f***n messages are mostly a big meme. If I see notice bulge UWU on Fox New I might have a stroke. All right, I'm going to have to leave it that really f***n sucks.

Judging from today. I'd say grandpa's gun does just fine. IDK.

I think that was a tooth that -- a 2k dollar scope wink-wink.

Robinson again, Delete this exchange.

Again Robinson, My dad wants photos of the rifle. He says grandpa wants to know who has what. The feds released a photo of the rifle and it is very unique.

He's calling me, RN, not answering.

Robinson, Since Trump got into office my dad has been pretty diehard MAGA.

Robinson, I'm going to turn myself in willingly. One of my neighbors here is a deputy for the sheriff. Again, you are all I worry about love -- that came from Robinson.

Roommate, I'm much more worried about you

Robinson, Don't talk to the media. Please don't take any interviews or make any comments. If any police ask you questions ask for a lawyer and stay silent.

The search for Robinson's residence police executed a search warrant on Robinson's residence. During that search police discovered a shell casing with etchings like the etchings found on the shells in the rifle near UVU. Police also found several target boards with bullet holes in Robinson's home.

Now as I stated in the beginning when I read those allegations these are allegations. And like the evidence set forth in this statement those allegations what you've heard from the media, even from state and federal officials has not been tested in the crucible of a jury trial.

I understand the public's desire to know the facts. My own family members have pressed me for information. Why are we reluctant to share the details of the investigation itself and comment on the case? Because I want to ensure a fair and impartial trial.

I became a prosecutor because of my love for the ideals of this great country and the principles embedded in our Constitution. The free exchange of ideas and opinions is critical to this great American experiment, but so too are the protections afforded to the accused found in the fifth and sixth amendments. The right against self- incrimination, the right to a speedy and public trial, the right to the effective assistance of counsel, the right to confront ones accusers and the right to compel the attendance of witnesses.

And perhaps most importantly under our Constitution the accused is presumed innocent until we the state prove to an impartial jury of defendants peers his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. That jury cannot rely on our allegations on what they hear in the news or on what they hear from a public official. The jury is the sole trier of fact and they will ultimately determine those facts based on evidence a trial judge has these as determined is admissible. Again, as prosecutors we bear the burden to prove guilt beyond a

reasonable doubt but no -- but make no mistake, we welcome this burden.

I'd like to now introduce my trial to my trial team who will be charged with prosecuting the case.

This is a veteran and expert team of some of the state's best trial attorneys. Chad Grunander who is my -- one of my two chief deputies.

[14:40:00]

Ryan McBride and David Sturgill -- on the far right there -- and those two were very much involved in preparing search warrants. Did a phenomenal job, worked day and night to see that accomplished well after he was -- Robinson was taken into custody. Also Lauren Hunt she is one of our special victims prosecutors. And Chris Ballard, my second chief deputy who will be handling motions.

I'm going to explain just the procedural steps.

We're not a grand -- we don't have a grand jury system like the federal courts do. It's a preliminary hearing system. So the arrest and filing of the criminal information are merely the first steps in the criminal justice process. Today at 3 p.m., the defendant will appear before a judge in the Utah Fourth District Court for his first appearance to be informed of these charges and to ensure that he has an attorney to represent him.

The hearing will be brief. The judge will conduct that first appearance virtually via Webex. This is not unusual. In the Fourth District all felony first appearances for defendants who are in custody are held virtually. A link to that hearing is available for media on the Utah State Courts X account @UtahStateCourts.

Now following defendants first appearance he will be entitled to a preliminary hearing. At that hearing the state will be required to show probable cause that defendant committed the crimes. The purpose of the preliminary hearing is not to determine guilt but simply to assure the court that the prosecution has enough evidence to proceed to trial.

If a judge finds probable cause and binds the case over for trial and arraignment hearing will be held. At that hearing a judge will again inform defendant of the charges against him and require him to enter a plea to each charge. The next step -- the next step following the arraignment is an opportunity for the parties to file any relevant motions and then ultimately the trial itself.

This case has generated a tremendous amount of interest across our nation and even the world. The public's desire for information is desire -- is understandable but it bears reiterating that this case will be tried in a court of law consistent with our Constitution not the court of public opinion.

Thus, we will only discuss with the press -- discuss the case with the press occasionally. It will not be a day-to-day or even week-to-week occurrence and -- but we will only do so in a manner as not to jeopardize the fair trial process.

Before I conclude I want to express my appreciation for the tireless work of our local state and federal law enforcement officers. They have an extremely difficult, dangerous and often thankless job. I'm proud to acknowledge the exceptional work they do every day and particularly their work on this case. It was truly a marvel to witness. Their skilled work and dedication have brought us to this point.

I'm also grateful for the leadership demonstrated by Bo Mason, the commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, FBI special agent in charge Rob Bowles, Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith, our local police chiefs and Felice John Viti, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Utah.

I'm also grateful for the support of our governor, Spencer Cox, and our Attorney General Derrick Brown who is standing behind me today and has offered his support and resources as we proceed to trial.

Finally, I want to thank our Utah County commissioners, Amelia Powers Gardner, Brandon Gordon and Skylar Beltran. They too have pledged to assist with the resources needed to successfully prosecute this case.

I will now take a few questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For questions, ladies and gentlemen, just just really fast. If you could identify yourself and what are good.

GRAY: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any individuals that may have known about this shooting in advance?

GRAY: They are still looking into it. It's an undergoing investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

GRAY: They haven't ruled that out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The text message that you exchange with your roommate. Can you give us a sense of, did that happen over several hours? Did it happen before?

GRAY: I don't have that information.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know acknowledging that you made this decision to pursue the death penalty independently. Did you hear at all from the Trump administration or Governor Cox's administration as you were working on these charges?

GRAY: I talked to officials from both administrations, but I was not pressured to make a decision. I understood their feelings on it because it was in the news. But we didn't really discuss that. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any indication that transgender issues played a role in the motivations for this year?

GRAY: I'm going to stick to what I just stated in my public -- in our information. I think that is pretty much set forth there.

BEN WINSLOW, FOX 12 NEWS: Mr. Gray, Ben Winslow, Fox 13 News. Just asking, are you planning to charges against anyone else in connection with this.

GRAY: Again, we don't have any information at this point of additional suspects, but I know that our law enforcement agencies are continuing to follow leads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI director today said that you are quote or that other people, a number of people are being investigated and interrogated. So it seems that there are people who might be up for possible.

GRAY: Yes, I'm not, I'm not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or could this be part of a --

GRAY: I can't comment on that. I'm not aware of all their investigation. I just know that these agencies are continuing to investigate this case and follow all leads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: BBC News would like to know how does this possibly interface with any federal charges?

GRAY: That's up to the feds. They have different charges and they're reviewing the evidence and after they review the evidence and the law, they could file charges, but I'm not privy to exactly what they're looking at.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the BBC, a lot about text messages with the roommate. The governor previously said the roommate is cooperating, but could we see charges against the roommate?

GRAY: Again, I'm not prepared to answer that question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reuters news. Is it unusual to cite a political motivation as an aggravating circumstance?

GRAY: It's it's part of our code. And so we charge that.

JIM SPIEWAK, KUTV: And Mr. Gray, Jim Spiewak with KUTV. For those that aren't of a legal mind, is this a confession? The text messages? Is that legally a confession? And is he cooperating since he's been taken into custody?

GRAY: Ultimately, a judge will determine that at trial.

Speaker 2

SPIEWAK: And cooperation, has he spoken at all? Has has he been cooperating?

GRAY: Again, I'm not going to comment on that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any statements at all?

MORGAN CHESKY, NBC NEWS: Mr. Gray, Morgan Chesky, NBC News.

GRAY: OK.

CHESKY: What more can you tell us about the suspect's time online that some say radicalized him?

GRAY: I am not aware of that information. It's again, still under investigation.

CHESKY: And has he expressed any remorse so far about this attack?

GRAY: I am not going to comment on that.

CHESKY: Is he continuing to not cooperate?

GRAY: I am not going to comment on that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Gray, the FBI director has been way out in front in terms of presenting evidence to the public. Your team has been very circumspect, very measured in what they've let out. Is that hampered your investigation and the build up to this criminal?

GRAY: Well, as attorneys, we typically like to control that information to preserve an impartial jury and a fair trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does that hamper the investigation? Does he have a lawyer yet?

GRAY: Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the suspect have a lawyer?

GRAY: I don't have that information.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell a story about the family may have said in interviews.

GRAY: What the family said is what I provided.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you anticipate that the defense will try to get this trial moved out of Utah County? And how will you respond to that?

GRAY: That from where?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From Utah County.

GRAY: That the defense will be from Utah County?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They will try to get the trial moved. GRAY: I couldn't predict what they're going to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You say if any evidence suggests that the timing of the shot and the question is that about mass shooting transgenders, is that more than coincidence?

GRAY: That will be for a jury to decide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Gray, are you confident that the roommate had no part of this attack whatsoever?

GRAY: Again, I'm not going to comment on the evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the evidence so far, does there show any involvement?

GRAY: Again, I'm not going to comment on other than the facts that I -- or the evidence that we've gathered so far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does the DNA here in the press conference jeopardize his right to a fair trial?

GRAY: I don't believe so. This is part of a public document that we have to file as we file a criminal information. We have to file a probable cause statement. That's a public document, and so we're comfortable with that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are his parents and the roommates still cooperating?

GRAY: I'm not going to comment on that either.

[14:50:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The allegiant said he suspect had a hatred of Kurt. What else can you share about that?

GRAY: I can't share any more than what I've already said. Speaker 2

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was an incredibly precise shot. That he went places to practice or have tracked his movements before the shooting that's given him insight and how he prepared.

GRAY: The evidence that I'm willing to share is what I just read in our statement, and it's in the in the information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to have to cut it off there.

GRAY: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he could just answer. Did you consult Erika Kirk about seeking the death penalty?

GRAY: I'm not going to comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We've been listening to the Utah County Attorney, Jeffrey Gray, who is leading the prosecution against the suspected killer of Charlie Kirk. And we just sat through an immense amount of detail regarding the shooting. A lot of information that we did not know before, and also the detailed charges that the suspect is now facing.

Seven charges overall, aggravated murder, first degree felony for discharging a weapon, as well as several counts of obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and committing a violent act with children present. Perhaps most notable what the county attorney shared there is just the immense amount of evidence that they have against this suspect really a staggering amount. Not only DNA on the weapon, on the trigger, on the towel that was wrapped around the weapon, but on the cartridges that weren't fired. As well as these text message exchanges with his romantic partner -- his roommate.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, that's exactly right. And we have a number of people here to help us walk through all of it, David Chalian, Laura Coates. We have Andrew McCabe and Tim Weninger with us as well.

Andy, to you first, let's talk about the DNA. Because there is the weapon, right? They have the weapon, and it seems pretty clear that this is something that is -- I don't know if it's passed down through the family by the text messages or what you have in this charging document. But it seems very likely it's been identified by the father, by one of the parents here. And talk to us about the DNA on all of these different items that authorities say have been linked to the shooter, the alleged shooter here.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, the DNA evidence is devastating. And we knew prior to the press conference that DNA had been recovered on a screwdriver found with the rifle and also on the towel that the rifle was wrapped in. And that was pretty good.

But, boy, what they have is absolutely devastating. They have the defendant's DNA on the trigger. They have it on other places on the rifle. They have it on the fired shell casing. So that's the brass casing that's still in the rifle when they recovered it. They have it on two of the unfired casings, which is, you know, that's from his handling of those things, either while he was etching them or sometime after. And of course, on the towel.

So let's remember that at its core, put all the notoriety and the people and the politics aside, this is a relatively simple case. You're talking about a homicide committed in plain sight. Basically, you have to prove that was the gun that killed Charlie Kirk, and this is the person that pulled the trigger. And between the video capture that has him essentially fleeing the place where the shot was taken from, his DNA all over the rifle, and then his statements.

The statements to the roommate basically create, lay out the entire crime, from his execution of it on the 10th, to his efforts to try to recover the rifle in the aftermath of the shooting, and to finally his direction to his roommate to delete all the texts -- which apparently he didn't follow -- and also not speak to the police. Which those added additional charges onto this information in the form of obstruction of justice.

So very, very strong case at this point. In a normal circumstance, there's no -- there is no chance that this case would ever go to trial. It would be pled out. That's my opinion. But here, because of the notoriety of this case, the people involved in the politics, pretty clear that the state is pursuing the death penalty, so they may just be compelled to go to trial no matter -- whether or not the defendant even seeks some sort of a negotiated plea.

SANCHEZ: Laura, I'm curious to get your perspective on that, but I just want to note for our viewers, one of the text messages that stands out that implies premeditation, the roommate asking the suspect, How long have you been planning this? A bit over a week.

Speaker 10

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Unbelievable to hear the way in which this has all been laid out. I mean, the methodical approach by this prosecuting team, which includes some of the best in Utah, to describe with great detail not only the planning, but the execution and the capture. His own mother recognized him based on the videos that was put out.

[14:55:00]

She told her husband, who also doubted her son. There's not enough to say, send me a photo of the rifle. That was a really important moment there to show you about the credibility aspect for any so-called trier of fact, whether it be a jury or otherwise. His parents doubted that this was not him.

And then people often talk about hearsay. You know, this idea that hearsay can't come in. Well, you know it's not hearsay, a defendant's own statements. Why? Because the premise of hearsay is that you're not able to test or confront your accuser and test the credibility of a statement. But if it's your own statement that can come in.

And so everything we saw here from these text messages that more than implicate him that talk about the decision to plan that describe and even reference the gun. Talking about the grandpa's gun done just fine today. Talking about the bullets as memes what was written on them. The idea of saying what he had done. All of these things could come in, even if he's not saying to the officers, I did it handcuffed me. Take me away right now. It all comes in.

That's all important from the layout even so, because here in this country, as the prosecutor noted, we do not have the absence of due process. They still have to meet their burden. He said it's welcome. It's their honor to do so, but they have to layout every single stage of this. And on the idea of the mother and the father and the statements being made, I hear cooperating witnesses. I hear people who are going to push that needle beyond a reasonable doubt for any jury that hears about what they have seen and what they've heard. But also one thing that was really important here is we've heard a lot

contextually about the roommate, a relationship. We've heard conversations about whether -- what his motive may have been, but the prosecutor didn't have to prove a motive. They have to prove what Andy laid out. That this was the person who committed this crime.

But I want to note one more thing. And that is the aggravated murder charge. The aggravated murder charge comes from who was also present in the area. You heard him go to great lengths to describe the format that Charlie Kirk's used, the accessibility. The prove me wrong tour sort of phenomenon with somebody in front of him asking a question. Children nearby. He described the trajectory of the bullet that passed by even the person who asked Charlie Kirk the last question he heard and he responded to. Children being nearby. This is were the aggravated circumstances that appeal and imply to being able to say this goes from just even the horrific charge of murder to showing who else was also vulnerable, even if those people were not struck.

KEILAR: Yes, clearly at risk, and they really spelled that out. I wonder what you thought, David. There was a lot of discipline in this delivery, and we have not seen that uniformly, I think you would say. And the county attorney, Jeff Gray, was asked, essentially, the FBI saying so much, has that hampered the investigation? And he left it pretty limited in his response, but I thought it was telling where he basically said, as attorneys, we typically like to control that information to preserve a fair jury and a fair trial. They're the ones who have to do the work here, right, and prosecute.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: He was also asked about his communication with the Trump administration --

KEILAR: That's right.

CHALIAN: -- and the Cox administration in Utah. He said he felt no undue pressure from anybody. He was doing his work here to gather the evidence and file these charges, but that he was keenly aware of how the Cox administration and the Trump administration and the governor and the president felt about these circumstances because he was able, like all of us, to see that play out in public over these last many days. But he said that that did not influence him. I thought that was interesting to hear that there had been, of course, communication with both the Trump administration and the Cox administration.

SANCHEZ: Tim, to you, when the county attorney was asked about any sort of track record of online radicalization for the suspect. He said that he was not aware of any information related to that. I'm curious to get your thoughts when you heard that.

TIM WENINGER, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PROFESSOR WHO RESEARCHES SOCIAL MEDIA AND VIOLENCE: Yes, and first of all, thanks for having me. The government, the prosecutor not being aware of any evidence of radicalization is, I think, interesting because the bullet casings speak directly from the internet. What I was pretty clear here, I thought was abundantly obvious was that this person was radicalized from the Internet, from the deep, dark places of the Internet. And I worry what comes next. So if you think about one side and the hatred that they're feeling

against the other side, and now coming out and saying that, well, yes, this person had this political belief and they were worried about how they were, you know, they were going to respond. Now I'm worried about the other side coming out and saying, well, they got one of us, and now we have to retaliate. And the conversation happening right now in the online spaces is going pointing feet at the other side. And now I think it's pretty clear that this person was, their political persuasion, the other political persuasion is going to be rallying around, circling the wagons ...

END