WASHINGTON — Three months after the assassination ofCharlie 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 prosecutorsplan to seekthe 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 againstLuigi Mangione, do not appear to apply in this case, the people say.
"They are trying to shove a square peg into 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 of their options.
The Justice Department "is confident in the death penalty-eligible state murder case and are committed to making sure Charlie's alleged killer goes to prison for life," the person said. "The federal investigation remains ongoing and we will not hesitate to charge when appropriate. Involving the Civil Rights Division only opens more potential avenues to charge this suspect."
Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was popular among conservatives and a celebrated figure in President Donald Trump's MAGA movement. Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Pam Bondi all heaped praise on Kirk following his assassination and pledged to do whatever necessary to bring justice in his case.
There's widespread agreement that the Kirk assassination was an act of domestic terrorismunder the federal definition,butthere's no specific federal domestic terrorism law.
In September,NBC News reportedthat factors complicating an effort to bring federal charges against Robinson included 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 not a federal officer or elected official, which would have provided a more straightforward lane for a federal prosecution.
Robinson, who made his first in-person court appearance on 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.
Both state charges and federal civil rights charges have been brought in recent cases involving political violence, including against anavowed admirer of Adolf Hitlerwhoplowed into a crowdof anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, and the white supremacist who haspleaded guiltytokilling10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in 2022.
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division hasundergone sweeping chargesunder the leadership of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyerknown for championing conservative causeswho represented Trump as he challenged the results of the 2020 election.
The federal prosecutor's office in Utah, which would be involved in any federal prosecution, recently underwent a leadership change. Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Melissa Holyoak was appointed by Bondi on Nov. 17. Before that, acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti had overseen 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.
