DOJ weighs novel federal hate crimes case against Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer

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

The suspect, Tyler Robinson, already faces several charges, including aggravated murder, and Utah prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty. Robinson’s partner is trans, and authorities produced text messages from the suspect to his partner saying he was motivated to kill Kirk because he was “fed up with his hatred.”

It is not uncommon for defendants to face charges at both the state and federal level, including drug crimes and domestic terrorist attacks, among other offenses. But efforts to bring federal charges in the Kirk case have faced resistance from some career prosecutors who have argued that the crime does not appear to fall under any federal law, the three people said.

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

“They’re trying to put a square peg in a round hole,” said one of the people familiar with the federal investigation.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

A fourth person familiar with the investigation said federal prosecutors are still considering all their options.

The Justice Department “is confident in the death penalty murder case and is committed to ensuring that Charlie’s alleged killer is imprisoned for life,” the person said. “The federal investigation is still ongoing and we will not hesitate to file charges if appropriate. The involvement of the Civil Rights Division only opens up more potential avenues to charge this suspect.” ​​

Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was popular among conservatives and a famous figure in President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Pam Bondi all praised Kirk after his killing and pledged to do whatever was necessary to see justice in his case.

There is broad consensus that Kirk’s assassination was an act of domestic terrorism in the federal sense, but there is no specific federal law on domestic terrorism.

In September, NBC News reported that factors complicating efforts to bring federal charges against Robinson included the fact that the alleged killer, a Utah resident, did not travel from out of state to attack Kirk, who was shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University. Additionally, Kirk himself was neither a federal official nor an elected official, which would have provided an easier path for a federal prosecution.

Robinson, who made his first in-person court appearance Thursday, has not yet entered a plea.

Federal hate crime charges have traditionally been brought in cases of violence or discrimination against racial and religious minorities, LGBTQ Americans, and other disenfranchised communities.

State-level charges as well as federal civil rights charges have been filed in recent cases involving political violence, including against an outspoken admirer of Adolf Hitler who rushed into a crowd of anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville in 2017, and against the white supremacist who pleaded guilty to the murder of 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has faced sweeping charges under Deputy Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer known for championing conservative causes who represented Trump as he challenged the 2020 election results.

The Utah federal prosecutor’s office, which would be involved in any federal prosecution, recently underwent a change in leadership. Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Melissa Holyoak was appointed by Bondi on November 17. Before that, Acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti oversaw the federal prosecutor’s office.

Viti did not respond to requests for comment, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah did not respond to a request for comment.