A Utah sheriff on Sept. 17 provided more details on the arrest of Charlie Kirk’s suspected assassin Tyler Robinson and said the suspect was fearful of being shot by law enforcement.
Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby said he was called by a retired law enforcement officer who had worked for him and knew Robinson’s family. He was told that the Robinson family wanted to get the suspect to voluntarily surrender, he added.
“During that phone call some information was provided about Tyler potentially having some suicidal ideations and was en route to a remote area in Washington County,” Brooksby told reporters in a news conference. “The parents convinced him not to do that and, you know, conveyed that they would stand by him and help him … surrender peacefully.”
The retired officer then drove Robinson and the parents to the sheriff’s office within an hour of the call, he added.
“Tyler knew it was just inevitable with all the law enforcement pressure that he, his picture in the news, the gun, the gun on the news,” he said. “He knew it was inevitable … that he would be caught.”
“He was fearful of a SWAT team hit on his house, or he was fearful of being shot by law enforcement,” Brooksby said. “So part of the negotiation and getting him to bring himself in was that we would treat it as delicate and as soft as possible to make him feel comfortable to where he would show up at my office.”
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Robinson’s mother told investigators that her son had become more political in recent years and more leftist, and also “more pro-gay and trans rights-oriented.” Robison was also involved in a romantic relationship with his roommate, a male who identified as transgender female, prosecutors said.
When he was asked why he allegedly committed the assassination, Robinson told his parents, “There is too much evil and the guy spreads too much hate,” referring to Kirk, said prosecutors. Kirk was a conservative political commentator and a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump.
Authorities found fingerprints from Robinson on the rifle’s trigger and DNA evidence on a towel that he had used to wrap the weapon, officials said. Bullets that were recovered had engraved messages, some of which were anti-fascist, authorities have said.
Meanwhile, Brooksby suggested that the Robinson family stay out of the public eye for a while due to threats.
Robinson made his first court appearance Tuesday, with a judge ordering him held without bail and scheduling his next court date for Sept. 29. No legal counsel was assigned to him, and it’s unclear if he has an attorney or spokesperson who can speak on his behalf.
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