A private arbitrator ruled this week that the Post must give Karen Attiah her job back with full back pay, according to Reuters. The decision comes nearly a year after Attiah posted what fact-checkers confirmed was a fabricated quote attributed to Kirk in the immediate aftermath of his assassination at Utah Valley University.

The arbitrator, Sarah Miller Espinosa, found the newspaper “did not have good and sufficient cause” to terminate Attiah and had violated its labor agreement.

“The Washington Post failed to establish the grievant engaged in gross misconduct.”

Attiah celebrated the ruling on social media, claiming she was fired for speaking the “truth” after Kirk was killed.

The dispute began when Attiah posted on Bluesky following Kirk’s September 2025 assassination. In one post, she attributed this quote to Kirk: “Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a white person’s slot.”

Lead Stories fact-checked the quote days later and confirmed it was false. Kirk never made that statement about all Black women.

What Kirk actually said came during a podcast discussion about affirmative action, shortly after the Supreme Court ended race-based college admissions. Kirk specifically named four prominent liberal Black women — Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, TV host Joy Reid, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and former First Lady Michelle Obama — who had publicly stated they benefited from affirmative action.

Kirk’s actual words:

“If we would have said three weeks ago that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative-action picks, we would have been called racist. But now they’re comin’ out and they’re saying it for us! They’re comin’ out and they’re saying, ‘I’m only here because of affirmative action.’ Yeah, we know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.”

Kirk was responding directly to Rep. Jackson Lee’s own statement: “I rise today as a clear recipient of affirmative action, particularly in higher education. I may have been admitted on affirmative action, both in terms of being a woman, and a woman of color.”

The Post had said in its termination letter that Attiah’s posts violated its social media policy, which requires employees’ online activity to be respectful and not undermine the integrity of the newspaper’s journalism.

Several Black commentators defended Kirk after the fabricated quote spread following his assassination.

Charlie Kirk, a Christian conservative activist, husband, and father, was assassinated during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. He was 31 years old.

The arbitrator’s ruling forces the Washington Post to reinstate Attiah with full back pay despite her role in spreading the fabricated quote during one of the darkest moments for the conservative movement.

BREAKING:

The Washington Post fired me last year for speaking the truth after Charlie Kirk's killing. I fought back.

I'm happy to announce: I won my case against the Washington Post.

They have been ordered to reinstate me immediately. https://t.co/TISoTvFFO9

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) August 24, 2026

An accurate headline would be “fired for fabricating Charlie Kirk quote on social media in seeming effort to justify his murder.” https://t.co/6KUzdMbSQg

— Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) August 24, 2026

The performance sparked immediate backlash online from conservatives who saw it as desecrating the memory of the influential 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder, who was fatally attacked last September during an appearance at Utah Valley University.

Dressed in what’s becoming his trademark Maoist grey suit, Piker sang, “We are Charlie Kirk, we carry the flame. We’ll fight for the Gospel, we’ll honor his name.”

“We are Charlie Kirk, we carry the flame. We’ll fight for the Gospel, we’ll honor his name.”

Piker sang as audience members joined in, following lyrics scrolling on a large screen behind the stage. His co-hosts laughed. One waved his lit cellphone over his head like a fan at a pop concert.

After he finished, Piker told the screaming audience, “that was the most surreal moment in my entire life.”

The tribute song Piker mocked is thought to be AI-generated. It was released just eight days after Kirk was attacked by an alleged gunman with a high velocity hunting rifle fired from a nearby rooftop.

“We Are Charlie Kirk” is styled as a Christian power ballad, with lyrics like, “He spoke the truth when the cost was high / He lived for Jesus, unafraid to die.”

The song is frequently used online in memes to mock Kirk and other conservatives, Fox News reported.

Piker’s Friday performance became a viral lightning rod.

Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet wrote on X: “Hasan Piker is engaging in pure, unadulterated evil. Whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished. Proverbs 17:5.”

Washington Free Beacon investigative reporter Chuck Ross wrote on X: “He’s just a trash human being. Piker was supposed to debate Charlie Kirk a few days after he was attacked. Piker actually talked about how much it shook him. Now, he’s mocking it all for the pleasure of his loser fans.”

Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley posted on X that more shocking than Piker was the “ecstasy of the crowd in relishing the death of someone with opposing views.”

“Ecstasy of the crowd in relishing the death of someone with opposing views.” — Jonathan Turley

Ironically, another X account posted video showing Kirk and Piker joking with one another — the conservative activist even giving the left-wing streamer a friendly fist bump on the shoulder. In the past, Kirk had debated Piker on socialism.

According to Fox News, Piker’s influence over the Democratic Party as democratic socialists rise in the 2026 cycle has become one of the top media stories this year. He has campaigned alongside several prominent candidates, including Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

Piker also reposted an account going after his critics, which read, “The same conservatives crying over Hasan singing a meme song were openly celebrating the murder of American citizens. These people don’t care about anything.”

It hasn’t been made clear what “murder of American citizens” Piker was talking about.

The callous performance comes just two weeks before the anniversary of Kirk’s passing last September.

Hasan sings “We Are Charlie Kirk” at the Fear& live tour pic.twitter.com/n4rGVTREyB

— yeet (@Awk20000) August 22, 2026

carried the flame tn pic.twitter.com/l5pMpFW4nd

— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) August 22, 2026

During a Politicon debate in Los Angeles on October 20, 2018, Kirk posed the question every conservative has wanted to ask every champagne socialist: if communism is so great, why don’t you live it?

“Why don’t you give 95% of your money away and go live on a commune?” — Charlie Kirk

Piker’s response was textbook leftist deflection. When Kirk pressed him to practice what he preaches, the streamer called the suggestion “absolutely preposterous.”

“I will be very honest, it’s really embarrassing especially because my boss is sitting right there, I make $60,000 a year, okay?” Piker claimed during the debate. “And that’s a really good salary.”

Kirk didn’t let him off the hook.

“I live what I practice,” Kirk fired back. “I am a free-market capitalist, I employ people, I took a risk, I have my own start-up business. Every single day, I practice what I preach. He wants other people to contribute to what he considers to be a good idea, what he considers will make the world a better place.”

The Turning Point USA founder then delivered the knockout line: “You have the freedom to go live as a socialist. Go do it, Hasan. What’s stopping you?”

The exchange devolved when Cenk Uygur — Piker’s uncle and boss at The Young Turks — began shouting at Kirk from the audience, demanding to know Kirk’s own salary. Kirk responded that he made less than Piker and lived his capitalist principles every single day.

The debate was one of many examples of how Kirk fearlessly defended conservative principles in hostile leftist environments.

Tragically, on September 10, 2025, Kirk was fatally attacked while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University. The Turning Point USA founder was taking a question about transgender mass attackers when he was targeted. According to charging documents, the suspect texted his roommate and trans-identifying lover afterward: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Since that 2018 debate, Piker’s hypocrisy has only grown more glaring.

The self-proclaimed communist now owns a $2.7 million West Hollywood mansion — a long way from the commune Kirk suggested he join. Fox Business host Charles Payne put Piker’s net worth at $35 million on air Wednesday, though public estimates vary widely, with Celebrity Net Worth listing roughly $8 million.

Either way, that’s a far cry from the $60,000 salary Piker claimed in 2018.

Piker has since been embraced by prominent Democrats including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This year, he campaigned with Democratic House and Senate candidates in New York and Michigan, including Michigan Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who is hoping to become the first Muslim U.S. senator.

The streamer’s radical views have only intensified. In an April New York Times podcast, Piker said he’s “pro stealing from big corporations, because they steal quite a bit more from their own workers,” and added that while he doesn’t shoplift himself, “if someone needs the food, they should absolutely steal it.”

Piker has praised murderous Chinese communist dictator Mao Zedong and argued that America “deserved 9/11.” In March 2025, Piker was temporarily suspended from the streaming platform Twitch — his fifth suspension — after saying that if Republicans cared about entitlement fraud, “you would end Rick Scott.”

Kirk’s 2018 question remains unanswered: if socialism is the answer, why won’t Hasan Piker live it?

Matthew Robinson is back commuting to and from his $600,000 Utah home and his prosperous masonry business after appearing in court last week to support his son Tyler Robinson during a preliminary hearing where a mountain of evidence was presented against him, according to the New York Post.

Despite showing up to the hearings for Tyler Robinson, Utah taxpayers are reportedly on the hook for his son’s defense bill, which could end up costing a staggering $10 million, experts told the newspaper.

High-performance defense attorneys were hired to defend the 23-year-old suspect after a judge declared him “indigent” — and his lawyers have already asked the state of Utah to fork over $2 million in additional funding for the trial.

Meanwhile, Matthew Robinson appears to have since returned to his normal routine of driving his GMC pickup truck to and from an unmarked facility located just outside of St. George, Utah.

The enormous bill stems from the extensive time and expert witness testimony needed to defend a suspect in such a high-profile capital case.

While Utah taxpayers brace for the staggering expense, customers continue to shop at Matthew Robinson’s stone and marble business, which reportedly relies on word-of-mouth recommendations and close relationships with repeat clients, sources told the New York Post.

Matthew Robinson rarely speaks about his son to locals, and most customers have remained loyal to the family business despite the 23-year-old facing charges in Kirk’s case, one of his colleagues told the newspaper.

In the past, Matthew Robinson was reportedly sued by his brother and co-founder of the company, Clint Robinson, who accused him of embezzling $100,000 over nearly two years, a 2014 lawsuit shows.

Clint also claimed that Matthew had traded work for personal favors, hid financial records, and once said they would go to jail if authorities ever saw their books, court records reveal.

After Clint demanded multiple restraining orders, the brothers ultimately reached a confidential settlement.

During last week’s preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented a trove of evidence against Tyler Robinson so that Judge Tony Graf can determine if there is sufficient probable cause to move the case forward to trial.

At the conclusion of last week’s proceedings, Judge Graf scheduled the next hearing for September 1 — when he will listen to oral arguments presented by both sides — at which point he is expected to make a decision.

Tyler Robinson could face the harshest penalty if convicted.

The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.

The vice president shared that he managed to follow parts of the Utah hearing for Robinson, though not all of it, and he told The Daily Wire that “the evidence against Robinson is just really, really compelling.”

In a wide-ranging interview as the hearing concluded on Friday, Vance put a rest to the notion that he believes the viral conspiracy theories about Kirk’s case, stating firmly that Robinson was responsible.

“Do I think Tyler Robinson pulled the trigger and killed Charlie Kirk? Absolutely. I think the evidence is clear on that.”

Throughout the past week, prosecutors spent days revealing surveillance footage, forensic evidence, an alleged confession note, and testimony from Robinson’s ex-roommate and transgender lover Lance Twiggs, as well as Robinson’s parents.

Vance and Kirk were close friends, and Vance has spoken openly about the role Kirk played in convincing President Donald Trump to choose him as his vice president.

Vance addressed claims in an upcoming book from New York Times journalists Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman, who report that Vance’s “instincts told him that there was a larger plot behind” Kirk’s case in the days following Kirk’s passing. Swan and Haberman wrote that Vance “went down countless online rabbit holes, becoming so consumed by the videos and the theories that his wife, Usha, told him she was worried about him.”

The vice president emphasized that the aspect of Kirk’s case that will always haunt him is the possibility that other individuals were involved in radicalizing Robinson.

“Do I think that Tyler Robinson is part of a broader network of left wing radicals who have fomented and encouraged violence? Absolutely. Do I know that they communicated with Tyler Robinson before the shooting? No, I don’t have evidence for that.”

“I’m always going to wonder,” Vance said. “I’m always going to wonder what was said and how many contacts he had beforehand. By the way, it doesn’t mean that [Robinson’s] any less guilty. But do I wonder if there are other people who are more directly involved in Charlie’s murder? Absolutely, because I don’t think that it’s possible for a young man to get radicalized like that without somebody encouraging him, whether informally or formally.”

“I think there are a lot of people with blood on their hands in the case of Charlie Kirk, but of course, the person most directly who has blood on their hands is Tyler Robinson.”

“The truth is that Charlie is dead because a bunch of left-wing radicals have preached a message that it’s okay to kill people you disagree with, and unfortunately, for my friend and and importantly for his family, there’s at least one guy in Utah who took that message to heart,” Vance said. “The worst part about all of this is not my my personal grief, as much as that’s very real, and the country’s loss, but the fact that I know that Erika and two little kids are going to grow up without their husband and father.”

Vance says his hope is that what transpired last September causes leftists to reconsider the violent rhetoric that they too often unleash against political opponents.

“If I was on the left, whatever the ideas that I had about politics and policy, if I saw that the result of some of the violence that I pushed is the death of Charlie Kirk, I would think twice about what I said and what beliefs led me to advocate for violence against people,” he added. “Because way too many leftists have advocated for violence for too long in our country, and it’s had real consequences.”

During the court proceedings this week, the prosecution played an interview with Robinson’s ex-roommate and lover Lance Twiggs, showing some of their text exchanges about the case. Twiggs revealed to the court that Robinson cried at their apartment after the incident and said he wished “he hadn’t done it.”

Vance said he had seen this report, calling it “very compelling evidence for a court of law.”

He sighed as he added: “In all Christians, if we’re being honest for us, there is a thirst for justice and a thirst for vengeance. And you know what God encourages to do is to care about justice and not vengeance. And so, if I’m being honest, my mind wishes for justice and hopes that Tyler Robinson is able to find forgiveness and find mercy. But I don’t feel that, and I don’t particularly care about that person or what happens to him.”

Reflecting on his own grief after the loss of his friend, Vance said he remains “heartbroken.”

“I think selfishly, I was thinking about what it would mean for for us, for the movement, and then you know, non-selfishly, I was thinking about what it would mean for Erika and the kids,” he said. “And you know, Charlie was one of those guys who was not just a friend, he was sort of a confidant. He was a guy that I could rely on. He was a guy that I could confide in. And there aren’t that many people when you’re the vice president of the United States.”

“It was a very, very big loss to me,” he shared.

Vance also repeatedly returned to the impact that Kirk’s passing has on his family, his wife Erika, and his two children.

“I think about this a lot as a young father, and this is probably the thought that I’ve had the most consistently since Charlie’s death: thank God, my kids are at an age where, if God forbid, something happened to me, they would they would have memories of me, and Charlie’s kids are at that age where, especially for his youngest child, but even for his oldest child, you just worry that a young father who poured his heart and soul into that family, you worry that those kids won’t have any memory of them, and I think that is the greatest tragedy of all of this.”

“And I know it’s something Erika cares a lot about,” added Vance. “It’s certainly something I’ve thought a lot about over the last year, but I think we have to take some some, as Lincoln would say, some measure of devotion to that, that his kids should know at the very least who he was, that that they were beloved, and that their dad gave his life fighting for the very best principles of the country that he loved.”

The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.

The bombshell letter laid bare the 23-year-old suspect’s alleged motive and planning.

“I am so sorry,” the handwritten note to Robinson’s trans roommate Lance Twiggs read. “I am likely dead, or facing a lengthy prison sentence. I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.”

“If you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry. I left the house this morning on a mission, and set an auto text. I am likely dead, or facing a lengthy prison sentence. I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it. I don’t know if I will / have succeeded, but I had hoped to make it home to you.”

Prosecutors presented the letter on day four of Robinson’s preliminary hearing in Utah. Judge Tony Graf had ruled the confession note could not be publicly displayed — but court staff mistakenly showed it anyway.

“This is a handwritten note or letter from Tyler to Lance,” a prosecutor told the court. “In Lance’s first interview with FBI, he tells them about this letter he found under Tyler’s keyboard per a text message he received.”

The prosecution also played video of Twiggs’ April interview with investigators. In the recording, Twiggs told authorities he had received a text from Robinson telling him to look under his keyboard.

“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before, and he said it was. He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it,” Twiggs told investigators in the video.

After reading the note, Twiggs texted Robinson to ask if he was joking.

“FUCK I TRIED TO DELETE THAT,” Robinson’s response read.

The text exchange — also presented in court Thursday — revealed Robinson’s alleged attempts to cover his tracks.

“I am still ok my love, but am stuck in Orem for a little while longer,” Robinson allegedly wrote to Twiggs. “Shouldn’t ne long until I can come home, but I gotta 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.”

“You weren’t the one who did it right????” Twiggs responded.

“I am, I’m sorry,” Robinson allegedly replied.

When Twiggs asked why, Robinson wrote: “I had enough of his hatred, some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

The messages continued with Robinson discussing retrieving his rifle from the scene.

“If I’m able to grab my rifle unseen I will have left no evidence,” Robinson added. “Going to attempt to retrieve it again. Hopefully they have moved on. I haven’t seen anything in the news about them finding it.”

Robinson went on to text that he had been planning the attack “a bit over a week.”

“Guess I’m just sitting in my car watching reels for another hour, hoping this guy fucks off,” he allegedly wrote — referring to a police officer searching for the weapon.

“Only thing I left was the rifle wrapped in a towel. I bet that canine sniffed it out, little snitching bastard,” the texts continued.

Later in the exchange, Robinson mentioned a trans sex joke he had etched into the ammunition, then fantasized about Fox News having to explain it live on air.

“Remember how I was engraving bullets? The fuckin messages are mostly a big meme. If I see ‘Notices Bulge UwU’ on Fox New[s] I might have a stroke,” the suspect allegedly texted.

The rifle recovered near Utah Valley University — where Kirk was attacked on September 10, 2025 — was loaded with a spent round reading “Notices Bulge/OwO/What’s This?,” according to evidence shown in court.

The message refers to being surprised by genitalia when someone is dressed as an animal or in drag. It’s used among members of the transgender and “furry” communities, New York Post reported.

The text exchange also revealed Robinson noting his father “wanted to use a high caliber” rifle for a hunting trip, adding: “Judging from today I’d say grandpa’s gun does just fine” — in reference to the rifle he allegedly used.

“I think that was a $2K scope,” the suspect texted, before demanding Twiggs “Delete this exchange.”

Twiggs also told investigators Robinson had asked him for a Dremel tool to engrave bullets.

“He had said he was planning to go hunting with his family, and he asked me if we had, like, a Dremel, because he said he wanted to engrave messages on bullets,” Twiggs said in the recorded interview with prosecutor Ryan McBride.

Twiggs — who also goes by the name “Luna” — added that Robinson inquired about the tool “at most, a month before” the attack.

Prosecutors are presenting evidence during this week’s preliminary hearing so Judge Graf can determine whether there is sufficient probable cause to move the case to trial.

Graf suggested he would not make a decision by week’s end. He scheduled another hearing for September 1, at which point he will hear oral arguments from both sides.

Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted.

The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.

MOMENTS AGO: Court camera operator accidentally showed the note Tyler Robinson left for his lover under his keyboard. https://t.co/yXssaUkyIM

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 9, 2026

WATCH: FULL video of Lance Twiggs' DAMNING testimony about accused Charlie Kirk kiIIer Tyler Robinson

It's pretty clear why the defense worked SO hard to hide this

KEY MOMENTS:

01:08 – Placed under OATH, agreeing to give testimony under penalty of perjury
01:58 -… pic.twitter.com/tUubdhC1yD

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 9, 2026

The widow of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk filed a motion Friday urging Judge Tony Graf to rule quickly on whether prosecutors have enough evidence to move forward with the case against Tyler Robinson, 23, who is charged with aggravated felony counts in the Sept. 10, 2025, incident.

Joined by Charlie Kirk’s parents, the family’s filing argues the case has dragged on long enough after a weeklong preliminary hearing wrapped up last week.

“A prompt determination is imperative in the interest of justice. The Court is approaching the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s death. Ten months have passed since the defendant was arrested, and the preliminary hearing has now concluded.”

The motion, obtained by the Washington Examiner, asks Graf to “promptly enter its probable cause determination based on the overwhelming evidence presented during the five-day preliminary hearing.”

While acknowledging Robinson “is entitled to a fair trial,” the family argues “he is not, however, entitled to cause undue delay in the criminal justice process.”

The Kirk family cited Utah’s Crime Victims’ Rights Act, which guarantees victims “the right to a speedy disposition of the charges free from unwarranted delay caused by or at the behest of the defendant.” They’re urging Graf to issue his probable cause ruling no later than Sept. 1.

That’s the date Graf scheduled for both sides to deliver final legal arguments before he decides whether the case moves to trial.

Testimony concluded Friday, but the judge set the September hearing instead of ruling immediately — a delay the Kirk family now wants eliminated.

Following the preliminary hearing’s conclusion, the family released a statement calling it “an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Charlie.”

“The world has witnessed the overwhelming evidence of what occurred to Charlie that day. Nothing will ever undo the loss of our beloved Charlie. As this case moves into its next phase, we pray that truth will continue to be heard through a process that is fair, transparent, and grounded in the facts.”

The five-day preliminary hearing featured newly revealed evidence prosecutors say ties Robinson to the attack on Kirk during a Turning Point USA campus event.

Prosecutors presented previously unreleased surveillance footage allegedly showing Robinson speaking with Kirk’s staff before leaving campus, changing clothes, and later returning to carry out the attack from a rooftop overlooking the event.

Jack Posobiec, a friend of Charlie Kirk and senior editor of Human Events, described to a reporter the never-before-seen footage shown only to members of the public seated in the courtroom.

The video showed “specifically the part of the Losee Center, the roof, and you see everything … he climbed over, he assembles the gun, he runs over to edge, gets down in a prone position, and you see the time.… and then you see him take the shot,” Posobiec recalled.

Defense attorneys spent the week challenging the reliability of DNA testing prosecutors used to link Robinson to the alleged weapon. They also disputed the prosecution’s contention that Robinson targeted Charlie Kirk because of his politics.

Graf on Friday sanctioned media outlets for briefly broadcasting a letter allegedly written by Robinson on Thursday, despite a court order prohibiting it from being shown publicly. The letter appeared to contain a confession and was inadvertently displayed for a few seconds during Thursday’s proceedings.

Rather than remove cameras from the courtroom, Graf ordered that no exhibits shown during Friday’s hearing could be photographed or broadcast.

Robinson surrendered to authorities two days after Charlie Kirk was targeted. He has not yet entered a plea to the aggravated charges.

If Graf finds probable cause following the Sept. 1 hearing, the case will proceed toward trial in what is expected to be one of the country’s highest-profile prosecutions. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty.

The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.

BREAKING: Jack Posobiec detailed video shown in Tyler Robinson’s hearing that allegedly captures the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. Sept. 1 ruling next. pic.twitter.com/gJYmpFMovg

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 10, 2026

“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before, and he said it was. He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it,” Twiggs said in a recorded interview played Thursday during Robinson’s preliminary hearing.

“He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it.”

Prosecutors displayed text messages showing Robinson allegedly took credit for the fatal September 10, 2025 incident at Utah Valley University the night it happened.

After the incident, Twiggs said he received a text from Robinson telling him to look under his keyboard. There, he found a handwritten note.

“I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” the note read, according to prosecutors.

Twiggs said he photographed the full-page note, which was displayed in the courtroom.

He then texted Robinson asking if he was joking.

“I am still ok my love, but am stuck in Orem for a little while longer yet,” Robinson allegedly responded. “Shouldn’t be long until I can come home, but I gotta 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.”

Twiggs replied: “You weren’t the one who did it right????”

Robinson allegedly answered, “I am,” adding, “I’m sorry.”

Twiggs — who has cooperated with investigators and not been charged — also told authorities Robinson inquired about a Dremel tool “at most, a month before” the incident.

“He had said he was planning to go hunting with his family, and he asked me if we had, like, a Dremel, because he said he wanted to engrave messages on bullets,” Twiggs told prosecutor Ryan McBride in the recorded interview.

Twiggs, who noted he has gone by the name “Luna” with some people including Robinson, said the accused looked like the man on an FBI wanted poster that circulated afterward.

“They do look like Tyler Robinson,” Twiggs said, before adding, “I wouldn’t say with 100 percent certainty, just because of camera quality, but that looks like him in terms of the shoes he’s wearing, the sunglasses.”

“I don’t think I’d specifically seen him wearing that hat, but he was usually wearing a hat and the jeans,” Twiggs added of the 23-year-old accused.

During the day after the incident, Twiggs said Robinson was pacing around their apartment.

“He was walking around a lot,” Twiggs recalled, adding Robinson told him he would eventually “talk to his parents or turn himself over.”

Prosecutors are presenting evidence against Robinson so Judge Tony Graf can determine whether there is sufficient probable cause to move the case forward to trial.

Judge Graf suggested he would not make a decision by the end of this week, and scheduled another hearing for September 1, when he will listen to oral arguments from both sides.

Robinson — who has not yet entered a plea — could face the death penalty if convicted. Twiggs has since left Utah and was briefly placed under FBI protection.

The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.

WATCH: FULL video of Lance Twiggs' DAMNING testimony about accused Charlie Kirk kiIIer Tyler Robinson

It's pretty clear why the defense worked SO hard to hide this

KEY MOMENTS:

01:08 – Placed under OATH, agreeing to give testimony under penalty of perjury
01:58 -… pic.twitter.com/tUubdhC1yD

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 9, 2026

Judge Tony Graf on July 9 allowed a three-page statement from pastor David Engelhardt — a Turning Point USA board member and friend of Kirk — detailing Kirk’s “orthodox-Christian position on marriage, family, gender, and sexual being, which find their basis in various Biblical scriptures.”

Defense attorney Richard Novak fought the admission for more than 30 minutes during the second day of preliminary hearings, arguing the document does not reveal accused assassin Tyler Robinson’s views on Kirk and claiming “this is not a case about religion.”

But Graf ruled the document is admissible as evidence for Kirk’s political beliefs — a decision that bolsters the prosecution’s case for the victim-targeting enhancement, which could significantly increase Robinson’s punishment if he is found guilty.

The Engelhardt testimony:

1)As noted in Turning Point USA’s filings with the Internal Revenue Service, Turning Point USA is organized and operated exclusively for educational and charitable purposes in accordance with section 501(c)(3), to empower informed civic and cultural…

— Breccan F. Thies (@BreccanFThies) July 9, 2026

The prosecution hopes to prove Robinson killed Kirk because of his “political expression.” If proven beyond a reasonable doubt, Utah law allows for a sentence to be enhanced because a victim was targeted for his political beliefs.

Novak told Graf he does not believe the document is relevant to the enhancement and told the court: “I didn’t bring the Bible to this courtroom. The state brought it.”

Lack of audio was due to the admission of an exhibit considered Tuesday and provisionally admitted — that of Pastor David Engelhardt, which is a statement of political and religious beliefs, motivations, and mission of TPUSA, Charlie KIRK, etc.

STATE is using this to lay the…

— Breccan F. Thies (@BreccanFThies) July 9, 2026

Graf initially chose to provisionally admit the document because it relates to the victim-targeting enhancement and Kirk’s political expression. On Thursday, he fully admitted and published the exhibit.

Under Utah Code § 76-3-203.14, the state allows for a sentence to be increased when a victim was targeted for his political beliefs.

The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.

The 23-year-old accused assassin sent automated messages to his then-roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, on September 10, 2025 — the day Kirk was gunned down while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.

Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis took the stand at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo to read the text exchange between Robinson and Twiggs during day 4 of Robinson’s five-day preliminary hearing.

According to evidence presented, Robinson’s automated text to Twiggs — “drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard” — was likely triggered because Robinson did not expect to survive the incident.

Under the keyboard, investigators later recovered a handwritten note that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

Realizing the automated message was sent, Robinson followed up: “F**K I TRIED TO DELETE THAT.”

“I am still okay my love,” Robinson wrote before stating he needed to grab his gun.

“I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you,” the text message continued.

“You weren’t the one who did it right????” Twiggs texted back.

“I am, I’m sorry,” Robinson admitted.

Here are images of the text messages exchanged between Tyler Robinson and Lance Twiggs which includes his confession and attempt to retrieve his rifle. pic.twitter.com/CLd6pW2xAO

— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) July 9, 2026

The text exchanges show Robinson explicitly admitting responsibility for the shooting as he attempted to retrieve the murder weapon, according to at least 15 pages of courtroom-displayed text threads.

Agent Davis detailed the timeline of Robinson’s eventual arrest.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. on September 11th, investigators received word that an individual involved in the Utah Valley University shooting was going to turn himself in at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in St. George. Davis was then directed to travel to St. George.

He immediately traveled there with other investigators and observed Robinson inside a room upon his arrival.

“I was told he arrived there about 9 p.m. that evening. … He’d come there with his parents and a family friend,” Davis continued.

After interviewing Robinson’s parents and family friend, Mike Mitchell, Davis formally arrested Robinson at 4:00 a.m. on September 12th.

He then took the accused assassin to Utah County Jail to be booked.

The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.