Jeffrey Gray called Kirk’s death an ‘American tragedy’ – and said the murder suspect had begged his friend to stay quiet
It was, Utah county prosecutor Jeffrey Gray said as he opened his address to reporters, “an American tragedy”.
The simple statement gave little indication of the extraordinary 45-minute press conference that was to follow as the veteran attorney laid out in detail how the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk was killed, and the text messages his alleged assassin sent in the aftermath of the murder.
Tyler Robinson, Gray told the packed yet silent briefing room, had become consumed by hate for Kirk and his politics. By his own admission, Gray said, Robinson had planned the murder “in a bit over a week” once he knew Kirk would be attending a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem last Wednesday.
He sent his roommate messages confessing to the crime, Gray added. Robinson said why he had done it and then begged the roommate, whom the prosecutor said had also become his lover, to stay silent and hire a lawyer if the police came calling.
