Alleged gunman Tyler Robinson wrote in letter, ‘opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk’: Court documents
Tyler Robinson, center, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in 4th District Court on January 16, 2026 in Provo, Utah. (Bethany Baker-Pool/Getty Images)
(PROVO, Utah) — Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, allegedly told his boyfriend, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it,” according to newly unsealed court documents.
On Sept. 10, 2025, the day of the shooting, Robinson allegedly sent his boyfriend a message that said, “drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
Robinson’s boyfriend told police that he found a handwritten letter under the keyboard, the documents said.
ABC News first reported on the existence of the letter in September.
Police said they reviewed the boyfriend’s photo of the letter. The note read, according to the documents, “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,” the letter continued, according to the documents. “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. I wish we could have lived in a world where this did not feel necessary.”
Kirk was shot and killed in the middle of his outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The 31-year-old was the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, and the Utah Valley event marked the first stop of his “The American Comeback Tour,” which invited students on college campuses to debate hot-button issues.
Robinson allegedly fled the scene of the shooting, prompting a massive manhunt. He surrendered to authorities on the night of Sept. 11.
He was charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. He has not entered a plea.
(NEW YORK) — A cross-country storm continued on Monday to produce heavy snow and strong winds in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region, including an ice storm in northern Michigan, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and delays.
More than 3,400 flights within or out of the United States have already been canceled on Monday and more than 14,000 flights have been delayed, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights throughout the nation.
Between Saturday and Monday morning, more than 5,000 flights were canceled nationwide due to weather, with 3,000 flights scrapped on Sunday alone.
A major winter storm sweeping across the country has produced blizzards, ice storms and widespread destruction across parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes states.
Overnight, parts of Wisconsin recorded more than 2 feet of snow, including the city of Wausau, which received 23.4 inches of snow on Sunday and was adding to its snow totals on Monday morning.
Blizzard conditions are still occurring in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, where the city of Minneapolis recorded 8.8 inches of snow overnight and into Monday.
Meanwhile, more than 391 reports of damaging winds have been recorded from Texas to Ohio. At least eight states — including Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and New York — have reported destructive wind gusts of 70 mph.
More than 500,000 utility customers from Texas to New York were without power on Monday morning, according to the website PowerOutage.com.
Most of the power outages are in northern Michigan, where an ongoing ice storms have toppled power lines.
Fire and ice
The March storm is also forecast to continue whipping up dry and windy conditions in the South, fueling a critical fire threat in areas of the central U.S. already dealing with wildfires.
In Nebraska, three wildfires, the largest being the Morrill Fire, have burned more than 700,000 acres of land across multiple counties in western Nebraska and killed at least one person in Arthur County, Gov. Jim Pillen said at a news conference on Saturday.
On Monday, red flag warnings for fire weather danger are in place from southern Texas through southern Louisiana, including the cities of Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi.
Severe weather outlook for Monday
On Monday, a moderate risks of severe storms is forecast to spread into South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and up to Maryland, including the cities of Washington, D.C., Richmond and Raleigh.
Severe storms are also expected to develop from Georgia to Pennsylvania, including the cities of Savannah, Charleston, Charlotte, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Destructive winds gusts greater than 70 mph could develop in these areas, especially from South Carolina to Maryland.
There’s also a risk of tornadoes popping up about midday from South Carolina to Maryland.
A line of severe thunderstorm could also spawn tornadoes from the Florida Panhandle to the West Virginia. A tornado watch was in place earlier for Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
A tornado watch is also in place for Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and much of New Jersey until 7 pm ET on Monday.
More snow in store for the East Coast
By 6 p.m. ET, snow is expected to be falling from western Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Pennsylvania and western New York. Showers and thunderstorms are also forecast to move along the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine.
The weather system is expected to move out late Monday afternoon. But lake-effect snow is expected to continue through Tuesday on the eastern side of the Great Lakes.
Snow could also make a brief appearance from the Dakotas to Ohio on Tuesday and into Tuesday night.
Record heat wave in the West
Record heat is expected to continue as a summer-like heat dome settles over the West.
Many cities throughout the West — Sacramento, San Jose, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Denver — could reach all-time high temperatures for March.
Extreme heat alerts have been issued from southern Arizona up to the Bay Area of Northern California, where temperatures could reach the mid-90s.
Part of Southern California could see temperatures climb to 109 degrees.
Ellen Greenberg,(L) in a photo provided by family. Lamb McErlane PC
(PHILADELPHIA) — The family of Ellen Greenberg is celebrating the prospect of a federal investigation into the way various agencies in Philadelphia handled her death.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday that the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued subpoenas as part of an inquiry into whether Greenberg’s death was properly investigated.
The family of the 27-year-old teacher has long claimed the case was “embarrassingly botched” and warranted additional investigation.
“The prospects of the federal United States attorneys investigating any aspect of Ellen’s murder is a dream come true for [her parents] Sandee and Josh,” family attorney Joseph Podraza said in a statement to ABC News. “We have only wanted justice for Ellen and now have renewed hope this will occur. Sandee and Josh and their lawyers will continue to pursue and support all avenues to secure justice in this matter.”
The US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania declined to comment. ABC News has reached out to various offices involved in Greenberg’s case, including the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, which have not immediately returned request for comment.
Greenberg was found by her fiancé in January 2011 in the kitchen of their home with a 10-inch knife in her chest and over a dozen stab wounds. The fiancé told police at the time the door was locked from the inside and investigators said there were no signs of forced entry or defensive wounds.
The Philadelphia medical examiner’s office initially ruled Greenberg’s death a homicide, then switched to suicide.
In October, the medical examiner affirmed she died by suicide after the medical examiner’s office agreed to reassess the case following lawsuits from her family that contested the initial finding. Dr. Marlon Osbourne, the pathologist who performed the original autopsy, stated in a sworn statement in 2024 that “Ellen’s manner of death should be designated as something other than suicide.”
The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office agreed to review the case again as part of a settlement with her family to determine whether her manner of death should be changed to “could not be determined” or “homicide.”
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lindsay Simon stated in the 32-page review that it was her opinion that Greenberg’s death is “best classified as ‘Suicide.'”
Simon determined Greenberg had 23 stab and incised wounds in her neck, head and front torso — up from the initial autopsy report’s finding of 20 wounds — many of which “would best be categorized as hesitation wounds.” Additionally, she determined there were another 20 bruises from the initial report, raising the number to 31. No defensive wounds were found on her body, and “the fact remains that Ellen would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself,” Simon stated.
The evidence did not indicate any foul play or that there was anyone else in the apartment at the time of her death, but that Greenberg was “suffering from anxiety at the time of her death” and that the “anxiety appeared mostly to be due to her work as a teacher,” according to the review.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide — free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call or text the national lifeline at 988.
Jesse Jackson poses for a portrait during the 55th Anniversary of Ben’s Chili Bowl on August 22, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Kris Connor/Getty Images)
(CHICAGO) — Memorial services for Rev. Jesse Jackson began on Thursday in Chicago, where the late civil rights icon, Baptist minister and politician lay in repose at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition — the organization he founded in 1996 to fight for social justice.
Jackson’s family departed the Leaks and Sons Funeral Home on Thursday morning and their procession drove down Cottage Grove Avenue to reach Rainbow PUSH Coalition, where thousands are expected to pay their respects to the civil rights leader on Thursday and Friday.
“Jesse Jackson, Sr. changed the United States — and the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are deeply honored to know there are people from every walk of life who want to join us to pay their respects.”
Jackson was born in Greenville, S.C. on Oct. 8, 1941 and will lie in honor at the South Carolina State House in Columbia on Monday. Afterwards, his body will be transported to Washington, D.C. for a formal funeral service on Wednesday, before returning to Chicago for “The People’s Celebration,” a public homegoing service on Friday, and a private final homegoing service on Saturday.
Jackson’s children honored their father’s legacy, reflecting on his 1984 and 1988 presidential runs and how he dedicated his career to advancing economic justice and building political power for Black Americans.
Jesse Jackson, Jr. called for unity in the Feb. 18 press conference ahead of his father’s funeral services.
“Do not bring your politics out of respect to Rev. Jesse Jackson and the life that he lived to these home going services,” he said. “Come respectful and come to say thank you, but these homegoing services are welcome to all Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing, because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”
He asked people to “be respectful in the context of the extraordinary life” his father lived.
“Dad would have wanted us to have a great meeting to discuss our differences, to find ways of moving forward and moving together, and if his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen,” he said.
In addition to the city of Chicago, governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and South Carolina ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor Jackson. In announcing plans to lower the flags, governors highlighted the impact that Jackson made on the communities in each of those states.
“Jesse Jackson, Sr. marched beside Martin Luther King, Jr. for civil rights for all people. He traveled the world fighting economic and gender inequity. Until his last days, he fought for better healthcare, education, and peace in Chicago, Illinois, the United States, and beyond,” the Jackson family said in a statement on Wednesday. “I hope everyone who joins us to honor his legacy will also continue to champion these causes. That would be the best possible tribute and celebration they could offer.”
