Suspected gunman in Charlie Kirk's shooting charged with aggravated murder

The suspected gunman in the shooting of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was charged with aggravated murder in a Utah court on Tuesday. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Tyler Robinson, 22, was also charged with felony discharge of a firearm, punishable by up to life in prison, and obstructing justice for disposing of evidence, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

He was detained after Mr Kirk was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University in the town of Orem last week.

Utah County district attorney Jeffrey Gray said at a news conference that his office had filed seven counts against Mr Robinson, including witness tampering for directing his roommate to delete texts.

Mr Gray said he had made the decision to seek the death penalty "independently, based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime".

Investigators have spoken to Mr Robinson’s relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family’s home in Washington, Utah, about 390km south-west of where the shooting happened.

Mr Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics, became a confidant of President Donald Trump after founding Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest political organisations, in Arizona. His shooting has raised fears about increasing political violence in a deeply polarised country.

Authorities say Mr Robinson has not been co-operating with investigators, but his family and friends – including his roommate – have.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said at the weekend that those who know Mr Robinson say his politics shifted left in recent years and he spent a lot of time in the “dark corners of the internet".

Investigators found messages engraved into four bullet casings, which included references to memes and video game in-jokes.