People wave U.S. flags in front of the State House at a prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk, a U.S. right-wing activist and commentator, and ally of President Donald Trump, who was killed on September 10, 2025. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Erika Kirk, CEO, Turning Point, USA

Show host Jimmy Kimmel. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah University, was charged on Tuesday (September 16, 2025) with aggravated murder.

The charge means Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Kirk last week at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 64 km south of Salt Lake City.

“The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy,” Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said in announcing the charges. He said Robinson’s DNA was found on trigger of the gun used to kill Kirk.

Kirk was gunned down on September 10 as he spoke with students and died soon after. Prosecutors allege Robinson shot Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby campus building.

A Utah Valley University police officer was watching the crowd from an “elevated position” and identified the roof of the Losee Center as a potential position for a shooter, Mr. Gray said. The officer found evidence on the roof immediately, he said, and spurred officers to direct their attention to surveillance video leading to the roof.

Robinson, 22, also was charged with felony discharge of a firearm, punishable by up to life in prison, and obstructing justice, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He was scheduled to appear on camera for a virtual court hearing Tuesday (September 16, 2025) afternoon.

It was unclear whether Robinson had an attorney who could speak on his behalf, and his family has declined to comment to The Associated Press.

Robinson was arrested late Thursday (September 11, 2025) near St. George, the southern Utah community where he grew up.

Investigators have spoken to Robinson’s relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family’s home in Washington, Utah, about 390 km southwest of where the shooting happened.

Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics, became a confidant of President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest political organisations.

He brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics. His shooting raised fears about increasing political violence in a deeply polarised United States.

While authorities say Robinson hasn’t been cooperating with investigators, they say his family and friends have been talking. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said over the weekend that those who know Robinson say his politics shifted left in recent years and he spent a lot of time in the “dark corners of the internet”.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday (September 15, 2025) on the Fox News Channel show “Fox & Friends” that DNA evidence has linked Robinson to a towel wrapped around a rifle found near the Utah Valley campus and a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired.

Before the shooting, Robinson wrote in a note that he had an opportunity to take out Kirk and was going to do it, according to Mr. Patel.

The FBI also is looking at “anyone and everyone” who was involved in a gaming chatroom on the social media platform Discord with Robinson, Mr. Patel said Tuesday (September 16, 2025) during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington. The chatroom involved “a lot more” than 20 people, he said.

“We are investigating Charlie’s assassination fully and completely and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence,” Mr. Patel said in response to a question about whether the Kirk shooting was being treated as part of a broader trend of violence against religious groups.

Investigators are working on finding a motive for the attack, Utah’s Governor said Sunday (September 14, 2025), adding that more information may come out once Robinson appears for his initial Court hearing.

Kirk was shot while taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.

Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said Monday (September 15, 2025) that Robinson’s partner has been cooperative. He said investigators believe Robinson acted alone during the shooting, but they also are looking at whether anyone knew of his plans beforehand.

Editorial | Divided state: On the U.S., a fractured polity

In the days since Kirk’s assassination, Americans have found themselves facing questions about rising political violence, the deep divisions that brought the nation here and whether anything can change.

Despite calls for greater civility, some who opposed Kirk’s provocative statements about gender, race and politics criticised him after his death. Many Republicans have led the push to punish anyone they believe dishonoured him, causing both public and private workers to lose their jobs or face other consequences at work.

Published – September 17, 2025 12:39 am IST

The suspect accused of assassinating right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah wrote a text message before the shooting that he planned to kill Charlie Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday (September 15, 2025).

In an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” Mr. Patel said investigators believe Tyler Robinson also wrote a physical note saying he had the “opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk” and would do so. The note was destroyed, Mr. Patel said, but investigators have collected forensic evidence that it had existed and confirmed its contents through interviews.

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

Investigators have not publicly identified a motive. Law enforcement authorities have said they believe Robinson acted alone when he shot Kirk but are investigating whether anyone else had a role in plotting the killing.

Separately, the Washington Post reported on Monday (September 15, 2025) 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.

“It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” read a message from the account belonging to Robinson, the newspaper reported, citing two people familiar with the chat as well as screenshots it had obtained.

Kirk, an influential ally of U.S. President Donald Trump who co-founded the leading conservative student group Turning Point USA, was killed by a single rifle shot last Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles south (65 km) of Salt Lake City.

Court hearing by video

Robinson, 22, is expected to be formally charged on Tuesday (September 16, 2025), around the same time that he makes an initial court appearance by video from his jail cell.

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

Robinson has not cooperated with authorities, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said on Sunday, but investigators have been interviewing his friends and family in an effort to determine the motive for the shooting.

The killing has shaken a country already gripped by a spike in political violence, fueled by deepening polarization between the right and the left.

Both sides have universally condemned Kirk’s slaying as an indefensible act of political violence, though partisan differences have emerged over the framing of that message.

Some Republicans, including Trump, have blamed liberal groups for Kirk’s murder despite a lack of evidence, while Democrats have noted that left-wing figures have also been the targets of political violence in recent years.

The left and right also disagree over Kirk’s legacy and how he should be remembered.

Legacy divided

Kirk’s supporters cast him as an influential and charismatic figure who galvanized support for Trump among younger voters in 2024, and the Republican president has honoured Kirk by ordering flags flown at half staff on public buildings.

Civil rights advocates and liberals have criticized Kirk as a divisive figure who embraced Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of a stolen election in 2020 and has marginalized Blacks, women, the LGBT community, Muslims and immigrants with derogatory rhetoric.

In an appearance on Kirk’s eponymous podcast on Monday, Vice President JD Vance said the “incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism” had helped lead to Kirk’s killing.

While Robinson was raised in a Mormon household by religious parents in a deeply conservative region of the state, “his ideology was very different than his family,” Cox said on Sunday (September 14, 2025) on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, without going into specifics.

State records show Robinson had registered to vote without choosing a party affiliation and did not vote in the 2024 presidential election. But a relative told police that Robinson had grown more political and had expressed dislike for Kirk in a recent conversation.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and three other top members of the House Republican leadership held a brief vigil on Monday for Kirk, attended by dozens of lawmakers, friends and supporters in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol.

Back in Utah, at the scene of Kirk’s assassination, scores of mourners have flocked to makeshift memorials in recent days to leave flowers and handwritten notes, and to inscribe messages in chalk on campus sidewalks, many of them Bible verses.

Dally Bronson, 22, a sheriff’s dispatcher from neighboring Wasatch County who was on duty at the time Kirk was shot, said that as a devout Christian she felt torn about what justice should look like.

Describing herself as an admirer of Kirk, Bronson said she had been praying for both him and his accused killer.

“By all accounts (Robinson) was a good kid until recently, when something went terribly wrong,” she said, speaking through tears. Kirk’s “killing isn’t about one political side or the other – it’s about good and evil. The shooter encountered a darkness online, he went into some black hole on the internet, and it’s something people our age fall into.”

Published – September 16, 2025 09:03 am IST

Authorities are still trying to learn more about what motivated the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at a college in Utah, as the conservative activist’s family plans a memorial next week to his life and legacy.

Tyler James Robinson, 22, of Washington, Utah, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder and other felony offences. Prosecutors are drawing up formal charges that could be filed early next week, when he will make his first court appearance.

Investigators have spoken to Mr. Robinson’s relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family’s home in Washington, about 390 kilometres southwest of Utah Valley University, where the shooting took place.

Here are things to know about the killing:

What do we know about motive?

Authorities have not provided many details about why they think Mr. Robinson carried out the attack on Kirk.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said family members told authorities that Mr. Robinson “had become more political in recent years”. They recounted to authorities a dinner table conversation in which he mentioned Kirk’s upcoming visit to Utah Valley University and they discussed whether the activist was spreading hate.

State records show Mr. Robinson is registered to vote but not affiliated with a political party and is listed as inactive, meaning he did not vote in the two most recent general elections. His parents are registered Republicans.

Ammunition found with the weapon used to kill Kirk was engraved with taunting, anti-fascist and meme-culture messages. One bullet casing had the message, “Hey, fascist! Catch!” Mr. Cox said.

What do we know about Robinson?

He grew up around St. George, in the southwestern corner of Utah between Las Vegas and natural landmarks including Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.

Mr. Robinson became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church, at a young age, church spokesperson Doug Andersen said.

Mr. Robinson has two younger brothers, and his parents have been married for about 25 years, according to social media posts. Online activity by Mr. Robinson’s mother reflects an active family that took vacations to Disneyland, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Alaska.

Like many in that part of Utah, 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 seen smiling as he grips the handles of a .50-caliber heavy machine gun.

A high school honour roll student who scored in the 99th percentile nationally on standardised 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 that was posted to a family member’s social media account.

But he attended for only one semester, according to a university spokesperson. He is currently enrolled as a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College in St. George.

What has the fallout from the assassination been?

It prompted calls for greater civility in the country’s political discourse, especially on social media. But many people have made comments about Kirk and the shooting that brought consequences, including firings.

MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd lost his job shortly after on-air comments about Kirk, one of the first of many figures to experience similar fallout.

Office Depot said on Friday (September 12, 2025) that it fired a worker at a Michigan store who was seen on video refusing to print flyers for a Kirk vigil and calling them “propaganda.” Several Delta Air Lines employees were also suspended after social media posts that “went well beyond healthy, respectful debate,” CEO Ed Bastian said in a message to the company.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ Education Commissioner warned teachers in the state that making “disgusting” statements about Kirk’s assassination could draw sanctions, including the suspension or revocation of their teaching licenses.

A conservative internet personality who is embedded with immigration agents in Chicago filmed a video outside Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s private home in which he urged viewers to “take action” after Kirk’s assassination. Mr. Pritzker’s office said his security has been increased in recent days.

Memorial to be held in Arizona

Turning Point USA, Kirk’s conservative organisation, will hold a memorial for him September 21 at State Farm Stadium outside Phoenix, where the Arizona Cardinals play.

Kirk’s casket arrived on Thursday (September 11, 2025) in his home state aboard Air Force Two, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance.

His widow, Erika Kirk, vowed to continue his campus tour and his radio and podcast shows.

“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,” she said on Friday (September 12) in a livestreamed video. “It won’t. I refuse to let that happen.”

Flowers, U.S. flags and handwritten messages were left at a makeshift memorial for Kirk at Utah Valley University’s main entrance. The school has said there will be increased security when classes resume on September 17.

Published – September 14, 2025 11:59 am IST

With a fire hose of misinformation surrounding the assassination of U.S. right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, social media users have turned to AI chatbots for reliable updates, only to encounter contradictory or inaccurate responses, further fuelling online confusion.

The trend highlights how chatbots often generate confident responses, even when verified information is unavailable during fast-developing news events, energising misinformation across platforms that have largely scaled back human fact-checking and content moderation.

A day after Kirk, a 31-year-old prominent ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was fatally gunned down at a university in Utah, the X account of AI chatbot Perplexity falsely stated that the activist was never shot and was “still alive,” according to the watchdog NewsGuard.

When posts containing an authentic video of Kirk being shot swirled online, the X account of Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, stated that it was a satirical clip.

“The video is a meme edit – Charlie Kirk is debating, and effects make it look like he’s ‘shot’ mid-sentence for comedic effect. No actual harm; he’s fine and active as ever,” Grok wrote.

Grok also falsely claimed that a Utah-based registered Democrat named Michael Mallinson had been identified as the shooter, wrongly attributing the information to major news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times.

Mallinson, in reality a 77-year-old retired Canadian banker living in Toronto, said he was “shocked” by thousands of social media posts that labeled him the culprit.

Breaking news events often spark a frantic search for new information on social media, frequently leading to false conclusions that chatbots then regurgitate, contributing to further online chaos.

The tide of misinformation comes amid a volatile environment in the United States following Kirk’s assassination, with many right-wing influencers from Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) political base calling for violence and “retribution” against the left.

The motives of the gunman involved in the shooting, who remains at large, are unknown.

Meanwhile, some conspiracy theorists have baselessly claimed that the video showing Kirk being shot was AI-generated, asserting that the entire incident was staged.

The assertion underscores how the rise of cheap and widely available AI tools has given misinformation peddlers a handy incentive to cast doubt about the authenticity of real content, a tactic researchers have dubbed as the “liar’s dividend.”

“We have analyzed several of the videos (of Kirk’s shooting) circulating online and find no evidence of manipulation or tampering,” said Hany Farid, the co-founder of GetReal Security and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Farid also reported seeing some AI-generated videos.

“This is an example of how fake content can muddy the waters and in turn cast doubt on legitimate content,” he said.

The falsehoods underline how facts are increasingly under assault in a misinformation-filled internet landscape, an issue exacerbated by public distrust of institutions and traditional media.

It has exposed an urgent need for stronger AI detection tools, experts say, as major tech platforms have largely weakened safeguards by reducing investment in human fact-checking.

Researchers say chatbots have previously made errors verifying information related to other crises such as the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East, the recent India-Pakistan conflict, and anti-immigration protests in Los Angeles.

A recent audit by NewsGuard found that 10 leading AI chatbots repeated false information on controversial news topics at nearly double the rate compared to one year ago.

“A key factor behind the increased fail rate is the growing propensity for chatbots to answer all inquiries, as opposed to refusing to answer certain prompts,” NewsGuard said in a report last week.

“The Large Language Models (LLMs) now pull from real-time web searches – sometimes deliberately seeded by vast networks of malign actors.”

Published – September 12, 2025 09:25 am IST