ST. GEORGE, Utah — (AP) — The family of the young Utah man accused of shooting Charlie Kirk told authorities he had recently become "more political" and recounted a dinner table conversation where they discussed whether the conservative activist was spreading hate.
Tyler James Robinson, 22, of Washington, Utah, was arrested 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 — located about 3 1/2 hours from the family's southern Utah home — 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’t 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.
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 his family for helping turn 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’s mother reflect an active family with vacations to Disneyland, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Alaska. They frequently spent time outdoors — 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.
Robinson became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church, at a young age, said church spokesperson Doug Andersen. He didn't share any other details about Robinson or his family's church involvement.
Robert Sylvester has lived on the same tree-lined street as the Robinson family for about six years and said he and the Robinsons are members of the Mormon church. But Sylvester, who said he is at the nearby chapel every day, said he hasn't seen the family there in many years. He last saw Robinson a couple years ago as they both helped fix a leaky pipe at a neighbor’s home.
He described the family as “pretty quiet,” adding that the suspect’s father keeps busy as a contractor.
“They’re not unlike most families,” he said.
News of Robinson’s arrest was “completely unexpected,” said Jaida Funk, 22, who also lives in the same neighborhood. It spread rapidly among her friends. “I know for some people when their identities come out and they’re labeled as a shooter, everyone’s like, ‘You could tell.’ And he’s not one of those people.”
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’s social media account.
“He was known for being smart but not necessarily a nerd,” Funk said.
After he graduated from high school in 2021, Robinson’s 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’s 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.
“He wouldn’t really talk to you unless you said something to him,” he said. “Just always very quiet, kept to himself.”
The break in the case came after a family member of Robinson reached out to a family friend with information that Robinson had "confessed" or implied involvement in the shooting, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters Friday, shortly after Robinson was taken into custody.
Cox said authorities believe that Robinson acted alone. Family members said Robinson “had become more political in recent years,” Cox said, describing the recent family dinner.
“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” Cox said, referring to Robinson and an unnamed family member. “The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”
Authorities then interviewed a friend of Robinson’s 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’s account following the shooting but said the messages authorities described following the arrest “do not appear to be Discord messages.”
“These were communications between the suspect’s roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere,” a Discord spokesperson told AP, adding there was “no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord.”
When authorities took him into custody, court records show, Robinson also was wearing clothing “consistent” 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.
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This story has been corrected to show that the source of some information is a probable cause statement, not charging documents. ___ Biesecker reported from Washington and Mustian from New York. Associated Press journalists Brian Slodysko, Lindsay Whitehurst 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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