St. GEORGE, Utah (AP) 鈥 The family of the young Utah man accused of shooting Charlie Kirk told authorities he had recently become 鈥渕ore political鈥 and recounted a dinner table conversation where they discussed whether the conservative activist was spreading hate.
Tyler James Robinson, 22, of Washington, Utah, on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm, and obstruction of justice, all felonies, according to a probable cause statement filed in court and released Friday. A judge ordered that he be held without bail.
Robinson mentioned Kirk’s upcoming visit to Utah Valley University 鈥 located about 3 1/2 hours from the family’s southern Utah home 鈥 at a recent dinner, kicking off a conversation about how he didn’t like Kirk’s viewpoints, family told authorities. A full picture of his political leanings was still emerging. Utah state records show he is registered to vote, but that he is not affiliated with a political party and is listed as inactive, meaning he didn’t vote in the two most recent general elections.
His listed address in the probable cause statement is the six-bedroom home of his parents, who own a granite countertop business and are registered to vote as Republicans.
State and federal court records do not show any prior criminal cases involving him. It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear whether Robinson had a defense lawyer who could comment on his behalf. Messages seeking comment Friday from family members, including his parents, received no response.
A shocked community
Window coverings were drawn Friday at the family home in a suburb outside St. George, Utah, as media gathered and police officers blocked both ends of the street.
Many residents of Washington, Utah, and neighboring St. George reacted online with shock and horror that a member of their tight-knit community had been implicated in the high-profile shooting, though several also posted online messages applauding the family member who turned Robinson in to authorities.
Robinson has two younger brothers and his parents have been married for about 25 years, according to social media posts. Posts by Robinson鈥檚 mother reflect an active family with vacations to Disneyland, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Alaska. They frequently spent time outdoors 鈥 boating, fishing, riding ATVs, zip-lining and target shooting. A 2017 post shows the family visiting a military facility and posing with assault rifles. A young Robinson is shown smiling as he grips the handles of a 50-caliber heavy machine gun.
News of Robinson鈥檚 arrest was 鈥渃ompletely unexpected,鈥 said Jaida Funk, 22, who lives in the same neighborhood. It spread rapidly among her friends. 鈥淚 know for some people when their identities come out and they鈥檙e labeled as a shooter, everyone鈥檚 like, 鈥榊ou could tell.鈥 And he鈥檚 not one of those people.鈥
An honor roll student in high school who scored in the 99th percentile nationally on standardized tests, he was admitted to Utah State University in 2021 on a prestigious academic scholarship, according to a video of him reading his acceptance letter posted to a family member鈥檚 social media account.
鈥淗e was known for being smart but not necessarily a nerd,鈥 Funk said.
After he graduated from high school in 2021, Robinson鈥檚 mother praised her eldest son for his smarts and academic success, and both his parents helped him move into his dorm at Utah State that fall.
He attended for only one semester, according to a university spokesperson. He鈥檚 now enrolled as a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in St. George.
His mother didn’t have any public Facebook posts after 2022.
Durban Mickelson said Robinson frequently bought supplies from a store where he worked and didn’t stand out.
鈥淗e wouldn鈥檛 really talk to you unless you said something to him,鈥 he said. 鈥淛ust always very quiet, kept to himself.鈥
Family helped lead to an arrest
The break in the case came after a family member of Robinson reached out to a family friend with information that Robinson had 鈥渃onfessed鈥 or implied involvement in the shooting, told reporters Friday, shortly after Robinson was taken into custody.
Cox said authorities believe that Robinson acted alone. Family members said Robinson 鈥渉ad become more political in recent years,鈥 Cox said, describing the recent family dinner.
鈥淭hey talked about why they didn鈥檛 like him and the viewpoints that he had,鈥 Cox said, referring to Robinson and an unnamed family member. 鈥淭he family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.鈥
Authorities then interviewed a friend of Robinson鈥檚 who showed them a series of messages on the social media platform Discord in which Robinson discussed obtaining a gun.
Discord said Friday it had removed Robinson鈥檚 account following the shooting but said the messages authorities described following the arrest 鈥渄o not appear to be Discord messages.鈥
鈥淭hese were communications between the suspect鈥檚 roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere,鈥 a Discord spokesperson told AP, adding there was 鈥渘o evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord.鈥
When authorities took him into custody, court records show, Robinson also was wearing clothing 鈥渃onsistent鈥 with surveillance photographs of the person of interest.
Cox said ammunition found at the scene had engravings that reference meme culture and referred to fascism. ___ Biesecker reported from Washington and Mustian from New York. Associated Press journalists Brian Slodysko and Collin Binkley in Washington, Jack Brook in New Orleans, and Ali Swenson and Randy Herschaft in New York also contributed.
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This version corrects the source of some information to a probable cause statement, instead of charging documents.
