The suspect accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk admitted the killing to his roommate, cried at their apartment afterwards and “said he wishes he hadn’t done it”, a Utah court has heard.
The details emerged in a hearing for Tyler Robinson, 23, who faces aggravated murder and other charges over the conservative activist’s death on 10 September 2025.
The prosecution played an investigative interview with ex-roommate and romantic partner Lance Twiggs and revealed the pair’s text messages.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea. This week’s preliminary hearings are for a judge to decide if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial in the possible death penalty case.
Portions of both Twiggs’ video statement and text exchanges were redacted, while others were played only for those in court – not for public consumption.
Twiggs appeared in the interview taped in April this year with long hair parted in the middle, a navy blue blazer and blue patterned tie. The roommate paused at times to sip from a bottle of water as prosecutor Ryan McBride posed questions.
According to Twiggs, Robinson asked for an engraving tool in the months before the shooting, saying he wanted to inscribe bullets for a camping and hunting trip with his family.
For the first time, the prosecution also revealed images on Thursday of the alleged murder weapon – a bolt-action rifle – as well as engraved bullets and cartridges found both at the crime scene and at Robinson’s residence.
Inscriptions at the scene included messages such as “If you read this, you are gay” and “Fascist! Catch!” – while a cartridge engraved with “Test Shot” was found at the home that the suspect shared with Twiggs.
Investigators allege that Robinson fatally shot 31-year-old father-of-two Kirk once in the neck as the conservative activist addressed a crowd on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Kirk, a Trump ally and founder of youth organisation Turning Point USA, was pronounced dead in hospital.
In his interview with the prosecutor, Twiggs said Robinson sometimes discussed politics and listened to political radio shows while travelling to and from his jobs as an electrician.
But, according to the recording, the roommate did not share the same interests and didn’t “really contribute much” to such conversations.
Most of Robinson’s comments centred on President Donald Trump, or new legislation and they never discussed Kirk, Twiggs said.
According to Twiggs – who was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for co-operating with investigators – the pair did not speak about LGBT issues either.
On the day of the shooting, Robinson left earlier than usual, around 04:00, but Twiggs thought he was going to a job that was farther away, according to what the roommate said on the recording.
After Kirk was killed, the alleged shooter texted telling Twiggs to “drop what you’re doing” and “look under your keyboard”.
In the note left by Robinson, he addressed Twiggs as “Luna”, and said: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.
“I wish we could have lived in a world where this was not necessary.”
The note added: “Please try and find joy in this life. I love you always, Tyler.”
As Robinson texted further, Twiggs asked: “You weren’t the one who did it, right?”
“I am,” Robinson wrote in a text presented in court. “I’m sorry.”
When Twiggs asked why, Robinson responded that he’d “had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Robinson continued texting Twiggs that night, still near the campus where Kirk was shot, telling his roommate that he’d left his rifle in bushes where he’d changed his clothes and was waiting to retrieve it.
“If I’m able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence,” Robinson said in the text messages.
He complained about crickets being too loud and that a sniffer dog may have located the firearm. A heavy police presence and squad car remained near the spot.
“I’m just sitting in my car watching reels for another hour,” Robinson texted Twiggs.
He also texted that he was leaving Orem, where Kirk was shot, more than 200 miles (320km) from their apartment in St George, southern Utah, telling Twiggs he was on his way home.
The next day, Twiggs said in the taped interview, Robinson was in their apartment and “didn’t go into detail” about the previous day.
“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before and he said it was. He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it and then kept going around and just doing stuff, I think to keep himself busy or distracted or something,” Twiggs said.
