The shadows surrounding the motives of Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer of Trump activist Charlie Kirk, are beginning to clear. Authorities investigating the crime that has torn the country in two and resurrected the worst ghosts of political violence in the United States appeared on Tuesday to reveal Robinson's charges. He is charged with several crimes, the most serious of which is aggravated murder, which carries the possibility of the death penalty, legal in the state of Utah.

Utah County District Attorney Jeff Gray called the incident"an American tragedy" and confirmed that investigators are convinced the suspect acted out of "political motivation." The hearing took place in Provo, Utah, a city near Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed by a gunshot from a hunting rifle fired at a distance of about 200 yards last Wednesday while he was debating in front of some 3,000 people.

In addition to murder,"aggravated" because, according to the prosecutor,"he could have killed others," Robinson faces two counts for his attempts to manipulate a witness. That witness is his partner, a transgender person who lived with him, whom he asked to destroy evidence of his confession and also to not speak to authorities or the press. The other two counts are two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of committing a crime in the presence of a minor.

The highlight of the appearance came when Gray read in a flat voice an exchange of messages between the suspect and his partner.

Gray also said the suspect's DNA was found on the weapon investigators found near the crime scene: a high-powered hunting rifle wrapped in a towel in a wooded area, along with spent and unspent cartridges bearing anti-fascist inscriptions inspired by gaming culture, the suspect's passion.

The Utah County prosecutor then detailed what happened before and immediately after Kirk died at 12:23 p.m. on a sunny day, when the bullet struck Kirk's neck, causing him to collapse and blood to spurt. The shot triggered a stampede of those attending the event, organized by the nonprofit Turning Point USA, which the MAGA activist and youth leader founded when he was just 18.

Gray then leisurely unpacked much of what was already known about the 33-hour search for the culprit, even the latest developments. For example, the role of the mother, who until now had been absent from the story. It was she, who told the officers that her son had become"politicized" in "the last year or so" and had leaned to the left, with ideas"in defense of gay and trans rights," who recognized her son in the images released by the authorities. She notified the father, who agreed with her bad feeling. Robinson's family is Republican, fond of guns and hunting.

Revealing messages

The most revealing part was Gray's reading, in a flat voice, of a text exchange between the suspect and the person he lived with, whom he described as"a biological male who was changing genders." Robinson told him what he had done shortly before turning himself in to authorities, after his parents and a family friend, a religious minister, had convinced him to do so. He also told him that what worried him most was losing"Grandpa's rifle."

When it was time for reporters to ask questions, Gray repeatedly said,"I won't comment on that matter."

After the allegations were revealed, Robinson was scheduled to appear virtually before a judge for the first time on Tuesday. He is being held in the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork, and the court is being held in Provo, a city that has garnered more international attention than its residents are accustomed to. Not only because of Kirk's alleged killer; also because Robert Redford, its most famous neighbor, died in the early morning hours while he slept, surrounded by his family.

Some of the latest revelations about the investigation were published by American media, such as The Washington Post, which revealed the content of a forum in which Robinson admitted his crime (“It was me,” he wrote) in a chat on the Discord platform.

Other developments were revealed by FBI Director Kash Patel in separate interviews on Fox News and during a fiery oversight hearing in the United States Senate held this Tuesday. Patel said they were investigating whether more people were involved in the crime, or whether Robinson's internet forum colleagues knew anything about it. He also said they were investigating whether any"leftist" organizations were aware of his plans or collaborated with them.

The Discord messages revealed by the Post correspond to the moments before Robinson turned himself in at the police station in his hometown of St. George, in the southwest corner of the western US state, after being convinced by his parents to do so.