DOJ weighs novel federal hate crime case against Charlie Kirk's alleged killer

The Justice Department is weighing how to bring federal charges against Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson.

WASHINGTON — Three months after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Justice Department is weighing how to bring federal charges against the shooter, including under a novel legal theory that it was an anti-Christian hate crime, according to three people familiar with the investigation.

The suspect, Tyler Robinson, is already facing multiple state charges, including an aggravated murder count, and Utah prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. Robinson’s partner is trans, and authorities have produced text messages from the suspect to his partner saying he was motivated to kill Kirk because he had “enough of his hatred.”

It’s not uncommon for defendants to face both state and federal charges, including for drug-related crimes and domestic terrorist attacks, among other offenses. But the effort to bring federal charges in the Kirk case has been met with resistance by some career prosecutors who have argued that the crime doesn’t appear to fall under any federal statutes, the three people said.

Prosecuting it as an anti-Christian hate crime would be highly unusual because the federal case would likely turn on equating anti-trans views with Christianity, according to the three people familiar with the matter. And other potential federal statutes, like the stalking charge brought against Luigi Mangione, do not appear to apply in this case, the people say.

Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, during a hearing in Provo, Utah, on Thursday. Rick Egan / Pool via AP“They are trying to shove a square peg into a round hole,” said one of the people familiar with the federal investigation.