Utah County prosecutors said they are "optimistic" they will file formal charges Tuesday against Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man arrested last week in the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
County Attorney Jeff Gray scheduled a noon MDT press conference at the Utah County Health & Justice Building in Provo for the announcement, which would align with a three-business-day deadline to file charging documents after Robinson's arrest. If charges are filed, Robinson is expected to make a brief virtual first court appearance at 3 p.m. MDT from the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork.
Gray has said Robinson was arrested and booked on suspicion of three crimes tied to Kirk's killing: aggravated murder, obstruction of justice and a felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury. Those preliminary counts are expected to track the formal charges listed on the Criminal Information document that would formally trigger the criminal case, prosecutors said.
Robinson was taken into custody at his home in Washington, Utah, following a roughly 33-hour manhunt after Kirk was shot on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. He remains held without bail and is being kept under what the county described as "special watch" at the jail.
The remote hearing at 3 p.m. MDT will be livestreamed, Gray's office said. The likely brief proceeding is intended to inform Robinson of the charges and to provide an attorney if he has not already retained counsel.
Utah law makes aggravated murder punishable by death, life without parole or 25 years to life with the possibility of parole; obstruction of justice carries a penalty of one to 15 years; and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury carries a penalty of five years to life, the county attorney's office said. Attorney General Derek Brown told Fox News Digital that Robinson could face a combination of state and federal charges. President Donald Trump and Gov. Spencer Cox, R‑Utah, have publicly urged state prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
Gray said his office must carefully review "mountains of evidence" before filing formal charges and would be "thorough and deliberate at every stage" of the case. He said a decision on the timing of the Criminal Information would depend on how quickly investigators and prosecutors can gather and vet the evidence.
If the county attorney does not meet the Tuesday deadline, the office may extend filings up to three business days, meaning any announcement could slide to Friday, Gray said. The Criminal Information is the procedural vehicle that formally begins a state criminal prosecution in Utah and lists the charges the state intends to pursue.
On campus, students and community members have created growing memorials at Utah Valley University since the killing. Memorials of flowers, flags and handwritten messages have been placed in the courtyard where Kirk was shot, and an American flag now hangs at the site as the university gradually reopened services and provided mental health support to students and staff.
Prosecutors said they will provide additional information at the noon news conference in Provo, where they are expected to provide a status update on charging decisions and the evidence review. The first public court step in the case is the 3 p.m. MDT remote appearance that prosecutors say will be livestreamed and brief in nature.