Transcription
[Applause] All right.
Wow, look at that. Beautiful.
The investigation into Charlie Kirk's assassination, it's heating up with the FBI director revealing new details about what they've learned and what they've probed as Kirk's family and friends lay him to rest.
I saw the wound that ended his life.
I'll share the comment from Erica Kirk that stunned the world and go through the very latest in the case.
[Music] Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anget Levy. Tyler Robinson is charged with murdering Charlie Kirk and he's in jail in Utah County, Utah, being held without bail. But just because Robinson is charged as a shooter, that doesn't mean the investigation is over. Far from it. As friends, supporters, and family of Charlie Kirk were honoring his life on Sunday, FBI director Cash Patel sent a post out on X about what the FBI is investigating. I'll get to that here in a few minutes. The county attorney says 22-year-old Robinson confessed to murdering Charlie Kirk using his grandfather's 306 rifle. But there are questions about how and why Robinson made the decision to take Charlie Kirk's life. What made a one-time straight A student and college scholarship recipient from a politically conservative family decide to take the life of a popular conservative activist because in his own words he spread hate.
County Attorney Jeff Gray says Robinson was living with a roommate who was a male transitioning to female. And Robinson and the roommate were a couple and that Robinson's mother told detectives that her son had moved to the left politically over the last year or so.
Robinson's mother explained that over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and trans rights-oriented. She stated that Robinson began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transi trans transitioning genders. This resulted in several discussions with family members, but especially between Robinson and his father, who have very different political views. In one conversation before the shooting, Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk would be holding an event at UVU, which Robert Robinson said was a stupid venue for the event. Robinson accused Kirk of spreading hate.
Now, Gray read text messages in which he said Robinson confessed to his partner/roommate to murdering Charlie Kirk. On September 10th, 2025, the roommate received a text message from Robinson which said, "Drop what you're doing. Look under my keyboard." The roommate looked under the keyboard and found a note that stated, quote, "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it." Police found a photograph of this note. The following exchange, text exchange then took place. After reading the note, the roommate responded, "What? You're joking, right?" Robinson, "I am still okay, my love, but I'm stuck in Orum for a little while longer yet. Shouldn't be long until I can come home, but I got to grab my rifle still." To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you. Roommate, you weren't the one who did it, right? Robinson. I am I am I'm sorry. Roommate: I thought they caught the person. Robinson: No, they grabbed some crazy old dude, then interrogated someone in similar clothing. I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. It's quiet almost enough to get out, but there's one vehicle lingering. Roommate, why? Robinson, why did I do it? Roommate. Yeah, Robinson. I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out. If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence.
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The text messages, they're a fullblown confession. There's no doubt about it. And there are separate groups of them in the information filed by the county attorney. In the last set, the public knows about. Prosecutor Gray said Robinson told his partner to not talk to law enforcement if approached.
Roommate, how long have you been planning this? Robinson? a bit over a week, I believe. I can get close to it, but there is a squad car parked right by it. I think they already swept that spot, but I don't want to chance it. Robinson again. I'm wishing I had circled back and grabbed it as soon as I got to my vehicle. I'm worried what my old man would do if I didn't bring back Grandpa's rifle. ID EK if it's had a serial number but it wouldn't trace to me. I worry about Prince I had to leave it in a bush where I changed outfits. Didn't have the ability or time to bring it with I might have to abandon it and hope they don't find Prince. How the f will I explain losing it to my old man? Only thing I left was the rapple was the rifle wrapped in a towel. Remember how I was engraving bullets? The effing messages are mostly a big meme. If I see notice bulge UW on Fox Newing sucks. Judging from today, I'd say Grandpa's Gun does just fine. IDK. I think that was a two thou a 2K dollar scope. Wink wink. Um, Robinson. Robinson again. Delete this exchange again. Robinson. My dad wants photos of the rifle. He says grandpa wants to know who has what. The feds released a photo of the rifle and it is very unique. He's calling me. RN not answering. Robinson, since Trump got into office, my dad has been pretty diehard MAGA. Robinson, I'm going to turn myself in willingly. One of my neighbors here is a deputy for the sheriff. Again, you are all I worry about, love. That came from Robinson. Roommate, I'm much more worried about you. Robinson, don't talk to the media. Please don't take any interviews or make any comments. If any police ask you questions, ask for a lawyer and stay silent.
Now, as far as we know, the prosecutor and the FBI consider the roommate, who we've not named, a cooperating witness. But in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder, several conspiracy theories have made the rounds on social media. Some suggesting men on the ground were giving hand signals to the shooter. The man in the white that you just saw is Dr. Frank Turk, a mentor to Charlie Kirk, who actually spoke at his funeral service.
I start facetiming my wife. I'm saying, "Look at this. This is incredible." Then I start facetiming my son and my daughter-in-law while Charlie sits down and begins to ask questions. Now, this is where you may have seen an internet conspiracy. The man in the white hat was was giving signals to the shooter. Yeah, the man in the white hat was me. Okay, I did this with my hat. Maybe I touched my nose or something while I'm holding my phone because I'm FaceTiming my son and daughter-in-law.
Now, Turk went on to say that the man in black that you saw was Charlie Kirk's main security guy. There has also been speculation that a private jet that left an airport after Kirk was shot was somehow involved in his murder. A man named Derek Maxfield was on that flight and he posted on Instagram that it was his company's plane. Maxfield wrote, "Any suggestion that the flights by N88 kg yesterday are in any way connected to the tragic shooting of Mr. Kirk is inaccurate, false, and without any credible basis of any kind." So yesterday, as Charlie Kirk's friends, family, supporters, and even the president and vice president of the United States were memorializing Charlie Kirk, FBI director Cash Patel posted on X that every possibility is being investigated. Take a look. Patel wrote, "As the director of the FBI, I am committed to ensuring the investigation into Charlie Kirk's assassination is thorough and exhaustive, pursuing every lead to its conclusion. The full weight of America's law enforcement. Agencies are actively following the evidence that has emerged, but our efforts extend beyond initial findings. We are examining every facet of the assassination. We are meticulously investigating theories and questions, including the location from where the shot was taken, the possibility of accomplices, the text message confession that I just read to you, and related conversations. Discord chats, the angle of the shot and bullet impact, how the weapon was transported, hand gestures observed as potential signals near Charlie at the time of his assassination, and visitors to the alleged shooter's residence in the hours and days leading up to September 10th, 2025. Some details are known today, while others are still being pursued to ensure every possibility is considered. Our primary focus is to complete this investigation and deliver justice. To protect the integrity of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, we cannot release every piece of information we have to the public right now. We will ensure every question is addressed at the appropriate moment. Regarding specific details such as questions about the plane that allegedly turned off its transponder after departing from an airport near the assassination site. We can share updates when answers are confirmed after interviews with the pilot and consultation with the FAA. We determined the transponder was not turned off. Incomplete flight data in rural areas caused the apparent gap. The entire FBI mourns the loss of Charlie Kirk. We will not rest until justice is served and our investigation into this assassination will continue until every question is answered."
Now, this is very interesting because he's diving into these conspiracy theories. Patel testified in front of Congress last week and he said this about Discord, the messaging platform whose spokesperson has said Tyler Robinson did not plan the crime on the site but admitted to it after the fact on that platform. Reports have suggested that the FBI is investigating a broader network of groups that may have had some knowledge of the shooters plans. Can you give us any details on that? Following up what you've already said in public, how's the FBI working to find other potential accomplices, folks who may have known about the shooter's plans, folks who may have encouraged him? Any any update on any of that? So, in terms of what we do for an interrogation um perspective, we go and reach out to the family and community immediately. And we've conducted those investigations and interrogations with local law enforcement and we're continuing to do that because those closest to the suspect are going to hopefully know the most about the suspect and his beliefs and his ideology. On top of that, um, unfortunately, it has been leaked that there was a uh a Discord chat and for those unfamiliar with it, it's a gaming chat room online um that the suspect participated in. So, what we're doing, we've already done sort of legal process, not just on Discord, so that the information we gathered is sustained and held in a evidentary posture that we could use in prosecution should it be decided to do so. And we're also going to be investigating anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat.
Okay. Very good. I see the public reports that the Discord thread had as many as 20 additional users. It sounds like you're you're trying to run down all of that to see if that's accurate. Who else may have been on that thread, what they may have known. Is that fair to say?
It's a lot more than that. We're running them all down.
It's a lot more than 20.
Yes, sir.
And you're running all of that together.
Every single one.
Now, Erica Kirk, Charlie Kirk's widow and now the CEO of Turning Point USA, the organization that Kirk founded when he was just 18 years old, spoke at the service about the loss of her husband. On the afternoon of September 10th, I arrived at a Utah hospital to do the unthinkable, to look directly at my husband's murdered body. I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything you would expect to feel. I felt shock. I felt horror and a level of heartache that I didn't even know existed.
Now, Erica Kirk says that doctors told her at the hospital that Charlie Kirk did not suffer. And from her, the woman who is mourning the loss of her husband and left to raise two young children without their father, she offered his alleged murderer words of grace. Take a listen. That young man, that young man on the cross, our savior said, "Father, forgive them for they not know what they do." That man, that young man, I forgive him.
I want to bring in Mark Weaver. He is a prosecutor who practices in Ohio, but has also prosecuted death penalty cases. Mark, I want your thoughts on Cash Patel's tweet. He sends this out right in the middle of the Charlie Kirk memorial service and he's basically saying this investigation is not over. They're investigating everything. The the location of the shooting, the angle, the trajectory of course um that will be part of the case, the possibility of accomplices and the text message confession. Uh, the text message confession between Tyler Robinson and the roommate, it is kind of interesting. I mean, it's really stuck with me and piqued my interest looking at that because it just seems like, first of all, not how 22-year-olds talk. And second of all, just weird that you would just spill your guts about this uh to somebody who's your romantic partner over text and that the roommate's not picking up the phone and saying, "What the heck did you just say?"
This generation does more by text than by phones. We know that. Certainly a bizarre exchange, a bizarre relationship that and a bizarre actions that ended up in a public assassination. I think what the FBI director is doing here is understanding that political assassinations in America have a history of conspiracy theories with people thinking that not every lead was pursued or that some evidence was hidden or that there was some grand plot behind it that was never revealed. So the FBI director wants people to know that this is a case they're taking seriously. Now it won't be federal prosecutors bringing the case. It will be state prosecutors. And in death penalty cases, as you mentioned, I've worked on these. The jurors have to first come to a unanimous verdict that the the shooter is guilty and then they have to have a separate hearing where they have to unanimously decide for the death penalty. And so by shutting down any possible conspiracy theories, the FBI director is actually strengthening the ability of the prosecution to get the death penalty unanimously by both finding this shooter guilty and recommending the death penalty.
And the FBI, of course, is assisting the Utah DPS and the prosecutors in Utah with this. They haven't ruled out the possibility of filing federal charges. They could always do that, but it seems like why would you do that if the states if the state's case is strong and they can get a conviction?
That's true. Now, Charlie Kirk was not a federal official. So, in order for the federal prosecutors to take if there would have to be a basis under federal law because most crimes are state crimes. Uh, now sometimes prosecutors will look at the jury pool, the respective jury pool and and which one might be more open to the death penalty. Uh, and in when you get a federal district, you pull from a wider perspective, more people sometimes that might affect the decision about whether or not to pursue the death penalty in a state case, which is just the county where the crime occurred, or in a federal case, which is the entire federal district. I want to talk now um about the discord chats. There was a discord group chat with um more than 20 people on it is what Cash Patel told um the judiciary committee last week and we know that the roommate was on part of that. I talked to Discord. Discord basically told me. Tyler Robinson did not plan this on Discord. Did not discuss it until after the fact when he told his friends he was turning himself in. Um, apparently the roommate discussed with another person what Tyler Robinson had told him, but we don't really know what Tyler Robinson who else he might have been talking to on Discord. Um, Cash Patel said they're chasing down more than 20 people. So, could he have been radicalized Tyler Robinson on Discord or other social media platforms? Because we have a kid who was 22 years old, a young adult who came from a conservative family, and then his mom tells law enforcement just in the last year or so, over the last year or so, he had started to move politically more to the left and become more, you know, pro- rights, gay rights, and protrans rights. And she's she makes it sound like he had become, you know, there had been a definite shift in his attitude and his ideology.
For centuries, mothers have said to sons, "I think you're hanging around the wrong people." And up till about 30 years ago, mothers could notice physically who their sons were hanging around with. Now, with things like Discord and the internet, mothers have no idea who their sons are interacting with while they're gaming or chatting online. And so it's entirely possible that exposure to people from around the world with the same unbalanced views, deeply troubling unbalanced views that this shooter seems to have did radicalize him in a way that probably wouldn't have been possible if he'd walked down his street and looking looked for somebody who had a similar outlook.
He also talked about Cash Patel did in this tweet um investigating how the weapon was transported, the hand gestures observed as potential signals at the time that Charlie Kirk was shot. We know that one of those was from one of Charlie Kirk's mentors, Frank Turk, but there have been some videos posted on social media of people appearing to do certain things. We don't know what those meant, but he's saying, "Look, we're investigating everything." Um, do you think this is because they don't want conspiracy theories floating around or simply because they're looking into whether anybody else was involved in this?
I think it's great to chase down every lead and release the information. Transparency breeds credibility. Uh, as you mentioned, the man in the white hat is Frank Turk, who's a well-known Christian apologist and very close to Charlie. He has already publicly said he was facetiming with his son and daughter-in-law at that exact moment because he was trying to say, "Look how crazy the crowd is. We have so many people here. This is exciting." He had previously facetime with his wife and now he was facetiming his son. So the the man in the white hat holding the phone is not a signal. That's a a father who was sharing with his son an exciting moment because his son was a fan of Charlie Kirks. The the clip of the the man in the black shirt who was part of the security detail shows him just moving his arms and either scratching or or touching his arm. It's about a second and and we all know that a second of video can be so misleading. It could be anything. The notion that there needs to be a signal belies the fact that the shooter had a scope and a clear shot and could shoot it anytime he wanted to. There's no need for a signal because the shooter had a clear shot.
What does your gut as a prosecutor tell you? I mean, you're privy to the information we have publicly, the information filed by the prosecutor. Um, do you think potentially there were other people involved or do you do you think it's just too soon to say?
It is too soon to say, but I was more tr I was I completely dismissed the notion of signals. I hope that the FBI releases all the information that shows that that's ridiculous. But I was troubled that there was some chatter in some of these trans chat rooms that Charlie was in danger when he came to this college and that something bad was going to happen. Now, maybe that prediction happened every time he went to a college. That might be one explanation. But the notion of someone having it so much on the nose that is worth a visit by by federal investigators and and other investigators and someone should have to explain what led them to think that. As a prosecutor, I want my detectives and my investigators to do as much detail work as possible before I go to grand jury and certainly before I take it to trial.
And you're right, there were some tweets and some other things, some posts that are floating around out there. I have screen grabs of them where they say, you know, Charlie, something's going to be bad's going to happen for Charlie Kirk on September 10th. And these were the day before and saying Charlie Kirk dead at 31, things of that nature. Um, that's really disturbing stuff. And these were days and days in some cases before the event. So, it really makes you wonder what was going on there.
Yeah. When somebody is um controversial and it's it's a sad state of affairs when somebody who's speaking basic Christian faith tenets and basic American civics in a very civil way is controversial but that's the time we're living in when somebody is that controversial other people come together and try to find a way to silence him in this case they thought they were going to silence the message at least this shooter did and others who were happy about it or maybe talking to the shooter about it um may have been plotting and if they did then charges are appropriate but as a prosecutor I live in a world of proof. I don't want to make claims I can't prove and that's what the investigation is for.
Erica Kirk told the New York Times um despite the prosecution already saying look this is a death penalty case we are pursuing the death penalty. She said she didn't want to be part of that decision. She didn't want to opine on that because she doesn't want that decision, the blood of that person on her hands. How much um does somebody like Erica Kirk's you know wishes factor in with a prosecutor? I mean this is what she's saying. She but she's leaving it up to them essentially. So, as the prosecutor, you know, you know that the defense attorney is going to come back and say, you know, at this point, they're going to just they're going to try to suppress all the evidence, of course, but they're going to try to save his life. That is going to be their end goal in a capital case. They're going to try to get the death penalty stricken. Do you just keep plowing forward with this no deals whatsoever?
Well, the the notion of what families want was a a big issue in the Idaho four murders, which you covered probably better than any reporter, and you and I have discussed numerous times on this airway. Uh, and as a death penalty prosecutor, when I meet with families who who've uh seen their loved one killed, I want them to say what they want to do, and I want to listen to that. But I always have to remind them that the charges are being brought by the state. Prosecutors don't represent individual people. Prosecutors represent everybody and prosecutors have to make the best decision for everybody. So, I think it was wise beyond her years for Erica to defer that to prosecutors because it is their decision. Uh, and although I want to hear what the victim's family says, I can't be bound by it.
Well, we will keep a close eye on it. Um, we're looking forward to learning who's going to represent this guy, Tyler Robinson. Uh, thank you so much Mark Weaver for your time. I appreciate it. Tyler Robinson remains in the Utah County Jail being held without bail and he'll be back in court next week. During his first court appearance last week, he only spoke when asked to state his name and showed little if any emotion. Meanwhile, Turning Point USA's American Comeback Tour, it's continuing. Monday night, the tour is going to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities for a rally event at that college campus. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anget Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.