Orem, Utah
What happened on 10 September 2025 and what followed in law: the news coverage of the shooting at Utah Valley University, the manhunt, the arrest and charging of Tyler Robinson, the hearings and the prosecution, the questions about campus security and the review that followed, and reporting on the misinformation that spread in the days afterward. No footage of the shooting.
Part of Charlie Kirk
69 moments in this segment.
- - Utah Valley University campus letters. The 'UVU' letters on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, the site where Kirk was killed in September 2025. Photographed in 2018.
- - Utah Valley University campus sign. The main campus sign at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, with Mount Timpanogos behind. Photographed in 2018, seven years before the campus became the site of Kirk's death.
- - Governor Spencer Cox: 'This is a political assassination'. Utah Governor Spencer Cox addresses reporters hours after the shooting, describing it as a political assassination and defending campus debate.
- - 'Rapid developments' in the investigation. CNN reports that the FBI director was travelling to Utah and that a scheduled briefing had been postponed because of fast-moving developments in the case.
- - Campus security nationwide comes under scrutiny. Report on how the killing prompted colleges and universities across the country to re-examine security for public speaking events.
- - Turning Point USA headquarters, 11 September 2025. The American flag lowered to half-staff outside the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, the day after Kirk's death.
- - Memorial outside Turning Point USA headquarters, 2025. Flowers and tributes left outside the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, on 11 September 2025.
- - Flag at half-staff, 11 September 2025. A flag flown at half-staff following Kirk's death.
- - Memorial in Salt Lake City, September 2025. An impromptu memorial to Kirk in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the days after his death.
- - Tributes in Salt Lake City, September 2025. Candles and messages left at a Salt Lake City memorial for Kirk in September 2025.
- - Governor Cox's full statement after the arrest. Full Utah press conference following the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, with the governor setting out what authorities knew at that point.
- - Utah governor announces an arrest. News conference on the morning of 12 September 2025 at which the Utah governor announced an arrest in the killing of Charlie Kirk.
- - Inscriptions found on recovered ammunition. NBC News reports that investigators found engraved phrases on ammunition casings recovered as evidence.
- - FBI director details the 33-hour investigation. FBI Director Kash Patel describes the roughly 33-hour investigation that led to the arrest of Tyler Robinson.
- - Full press conference: arrest announced in the Kirk killing. Complete news conference on 12 September 2025 at which Utah authorities announced the arrest of Tyler Robinson, detained the previous evening.
- - Utah officials and the FBI brief the press. Full briefing by Utah officials and the FBI on the state of the investigation, given the morning after a suspect was taken into custody.
- - Governor Cox's full remarks on ending political violence. Utah Governor Spencer Cox's complete 12 September 2025 remarks calling for 'moral clarity' and an end to political violence in the United States.
- - Reuters live: FBI news conference on the suspect. Reuters live coverage of the FBI and local authorities briefing reporters in Utah after President Trump said a person was in custody.
- - Full press conference: suspect identified as Tyler Robinson. Complete news conference at which the FBI and Utah state authorities identified the suspect as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
- - Investigators release suspect's booking photograph. NBC News item marking the release of the booking photograph of Tyler Robinson by investigators.
- - Newsweek: what was known about the suspect. Newsweek's senior politics editor summarises what had been established about the 22-year-old suspect after the nationwide manhunt ended.
- - Governor Cox interview on the suspect's background. Utah Governor Spencer Cox's full Meet the Press interview, in which he described the suspect's family background and the account given by his roommate.
- - Scrutiny of Utah Valley University's security arrangements. Report examining the security planning at Utah Valley University for the event at which Charlie Kirk was killed.
- - AP: What is known about suspect Tyler Robinson. Associated Press report on the background of Tyler Robinson, the man arrested over the killing of Charlie Kirk. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Robinson was not cooperating with investigators and may have been radicalised online.
- - Candlelight vigil at Arizona State University, 2025. Mourners at the candlelight vigil in honour of Kirk at Desert Financial Arena, Arizona State University, in Tempe.
- - Mourners at the Tempe vigil, 2025. Mourners holding candles at the vigil for Kirk at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
- - FBI director testifies before the Senate on the investigation. Report on FBI Director Kash Patel's Senate testimony about the bureau's handling of the investigation into the assassination.
- - Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty. Utah County prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty against Tyler James Robinson.
- - Reuters: suspect's initial court appearance. Reuters footage of Tyler Robinson's initial appearance, conducted by video link from jail.
- - The online subcultures investigators examined. PBS NewsHour examines the internet-culture phrases inscribed on ammunition recovered by investigators, and what specialists said they signified.
- - Senate hearing: FBI director on the Kirk investigation. CBS News report from Capitol Hill on the FBI director's account of the investigation, including a Discord chat the suspect belonged to.
- - The charges: aggravated murder and six other counts. Report on the virtual hearing, listing the charges filed, including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
- - Tyler Robinson makes first court appearance. ABC News coverage of Tyler Robinson's first appearance before a Utah judge, on 16 September 2025.
- - NBC News: prosecutors will seek the death penalty. Prosecutors announced the charges, including aggravated murder, and said they would seek the death penalty, while releasing new detail about the hours before the arrest.
- - FBI director on the Discord chat linked to the suspect. FBI Director Kash Patel confirms the agency is examining a Discord group chat that included the suspect, saying it had well over twenty users.
- - Channel 4 News on the charges filed. British coverage of the charges brought against Tyler Robinson, including aggravated murder, and the note prosecutors said he had left.
- - Students return to class a week after the shooting. Utah Valley University students returned to classes one week after the killing on campus.
- - Chalk messages at Utah Valley University, 2025. Chalk messages written on the pavement at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, in the week after Kirk's death on campus.
- - Chalk art and impromptu memorial at UVU, 2025. Chalk art and an impromptu memorial at Utah Valley University following Kirk's death there.
- - Impromptu memorial at Utah Valley University, 2025. Flowers, flags and messages left as an impromptu memorial at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
- - Former security director describes gaps in the event setup. Charlie Kirk's former Turning Point USA security director told KSL there were oversights in the security arrangements for the Utah Valley University event.
- - CNN: conspiracy theories spread online after the killing. CNN's Marshall Cohen reports on the rapid spread of conspiracy claims across the political spectrum in the aftermath of the assassination.
- - Fact check: the 'blood bag' claim was false. Australian Associated Press fact check debunking a viral social media claim that the shooting had been staged.
- - Memorial messages at Utah Valley University, October 2025. Written memorial messages left at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, a month after Kirk's death.
- - Ground memorial at Utah Valley University, October 2025. An impromptu ground memorial at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
- - Why conspiracy theories took hold after the killing. WIRED discussion with researchers Nina Jankowicz and Joan Donovan on how false claims about the killing spread online in the hours and days afterwards.
- - Judge rules the July hearing will be open to the public. A Utah judge ruled on whether to restrict public access to parts of the preliminary hearing and to seal exhibits, deciding the proceedings would remain open.
- - Mixed ruling on pretrial publicity. A judge found a Utah County prosecutor in civil contempt for public comments on the strength of the case, while leaving the death penalty available.
- - Judge keeps the death penalty available and holds a prosecutor in contempt. Coverage of a June 2026 motions hearing at which Judge Tony Graf found prosecutor Christopher Ballard in civil contempt over pretrial statements, while rejecting the defence bid to bar the death penalty.
- - What to expect from Utah's case. Explainer broadcast ahead of the July 2026 preliminary hearing, setting out the charges and how the proceeding would work.
- - Preview: the preliminary hearing opens in Utah. Preview of the week-long preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, which Charlie Kirk's parents and widow were expected to attend.
- - AP live coverage: the hearing opens. Associated Press live coverage of the opening of the hearing at which prosecutors sought to show a judge they had enough evidence to send Tyler Robinson to trial.
- - Preliminary hearing, day one in full. Complete recording of the first day of the preliminary hearing on 6 July 2026, at which the state began setting out its evidence on charges including aggravated murder.
- - AP live coverage: hearing day two. Associated Press live coverage of the second day of the Utah hearing in the Charlie Kirk murder case.
- - Preliminary hearing, day two in full. Complete recording of the second day of the preliminary hearing, held 7 July 2026.
- - Defence challenges the DNA evidence. Report on testimony about DNA taken from a screwdriver and a towel recovered near the scene, and the defence's challenge to how that evidence was collected.
- - Investigator testifies about the accused's contacts with TPUSA members. On the second day of the preliminary hearing, prosecutors questioned the lead investigator about Tyler Robinson's interactions with Turning Point USA members.
- - AP live coverage: hearing day three. Associated Press live coverage of the third day of the hearing. The accused had not entered a plea at that stage.
- - Day three of the preliminary hearing. CBS News report from the third day of preliminary hearings in Utah, after prosecutors showed footage of the accused on the university campus.
- - Preliminary hearing concludes until September. The July 2026 preliminary hearing ended with proceedings adjourned until 1 September; a friend of Charlie Kirk describes attending.
- - AP live coverage: hearing day five. Associated Press live coverage of the fifth and final day of the July 2026 preliminary hearing.
- - What a week of testimony established. Salt Lake Tribune summary of the week-long preliminary hearing, explaining that the burden of proof at that stage is lower than at trial.
- - University redacts the cost of its police review. Utah Valley University released heavily redacted contracts for the outside security firm and law firm hired to review its campus police after the killing, withholding what the review cost.
- - Documentary report: how the conspiracy theories spread. Long-form MS NOW report by Brandy Zadrozny examining how baseless claims about the killing were amplified online and the rifts they opened on the American right.
- - Profile of a prominent conspiracy claim's originator. MS NOW traces one widely circulated false claim about the killing back to the person who first promoted it online.
- - Reporting on the 2026 wave of conspiracy claims. MS NOW reporter Brandy Zadrozny reports on the conspiracy theories circulating among prominent right-wing commentators nearly a year after the killing, and the divisions they caused.
- - Defence files to disqualify the death penalty. Tyler Robinson's attorneys filed a motion in August 2026 seeking to rule out the death penalty in his case.
- - Defence argues the aggravated murder elements are unproven. The defence contended the state had not proven the elements of aggravated murder, the only Utah charge that carries capital exposure, arguing it relied on hearsay and speculation.
- - Defence argument against capital eligibility. Scripps News report on the defence contention that the accused should not be eligible for the death penalty, which turns on whether others at the event were endangered.
