On September 16, local time, Taylor Robinson, the suspect in the shooting of Charlie Kirk, appeared in court for the first time online, and the judge read the accusations against the suspect. During the hearing, Robinson did not make any statements in addition to reporting his name, did not show any emotions when the prosecutor read the accusations, and he was almost faceless throughout the process.
Robinson in court.
Prosecutors seek his death sentence.
Utah Attorney Jeff Gray has accused 22-year-old Robinson of serious crimes, including shooting for serious bodily injury, interfering with justice, interfering with witnesses and committing violent crimes in front of children. Gray has described Kirk’s death as “an American tragedy” and said he will seek the death sentence for Robinson.
According to the prosecution, Robinson’s parents asked why he committed the crime, and he replied, “Too much evil, this guy (Charlie Kirk) spreads too much hatred.”
The prosecution also wrote that Robinson's father said that when his wife showed him a surveillance image of the suspect in the news, he also thought the person on the picture looked like their son. He also found the gun model the gunman may have been using by the police to be consistent with the gift Robinson received.
When Robinson later met his parents, Robinson hinted that he was the gunman and said he could not go to jail and just wanted to end it all. His parents urged Robinson to talk to a family friend who served as deputy sheriff, who persuaded him to surrender.
The prosecution also showed that on the day of the shooting, Robinson's roommate received his text message that read, "Put down what you're doing and look under my keyboard."
The prosecutor also disclosed other information between the suspect and his roommate after the shooting occurred. One of the messages said: “I am tired of the hatred he spreads. Some hatred cannot be resolved through negotiation.”“Accusations show that Robinson’s roommate asked him how long it took to plan the attack, and Robinson replied, “I think it’s been over a week.”
The Kork Memorial will be held.
Department of "Massive pressure"
U.S. police expect tens of thousands to gather in Arizona on September 21.State Farm StadiumThe event was hosted by the student organization “America’s Turning Point” (TPUSA) which has been chairman of the organization since 2012.
U.S. President Trump, Vice President Watson and several senior government officials are expected to attend the memorial. The event isly going to test federal and local law enforcement agencies. The Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting U.S. personnel, is implementing a comprehensive security plan for the venue. The agency is facing greater pressure because of the need to allocate resources to respond to security activities during Trump’s visit to the UK and the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly shortly after the event.
According to TPUSA’s September 13 announcement, the commemoration will be open free of charge, and participants will need to register their names, addresses, postal addresses and phone numbers, and the Arizona State Farm Stadium can accommodate up to 63,000 people, and the participants will first go to the advanced venue. Former Secret Service agent and risk management expert Jonathan Wacker said the venue is an ideal target for hostile forces because of its high exposure.
At present, the Secret Service has only a few days to prepare security work for the event, and the Bureau has deployed resources to the site, installed security inspection doors and necessary equipment, comprehensively investigated the environment inside and outside the site, and developed detailed risk management plans.
It is unclear whether the Cork Memorial will be listed as a national security activity. Such recognition will give the event additional funding from the federal government and will be assisted by state and local governments.
A Republican congressman revealed that the White House had asked for an additional $58 million in appropriations for administrative and judicial security after Kirk’s assassination, which was being “rapidly handled” by a temporary appropriation bill.
U.S. Secretary of State Rubio:
Visa will be refused to celebrate Kirk’s death
U.S. Secretary of State Rubio tweeted: “The United States is hosting foreigners who celebrate the death of their fellow citizens. The visa withdrawal process has begun. If you hold a visa in the United States, but say goodbye for the public assassination of a political figure, be prepared to be deported.”
In an interview, Rubio reiterated that the State Council would refuse to issue visas to those celebrating Kirk’s death and withdraw visas to those involved.
Rubio said: “We will not invite people who will be involved in negative destructive activities, whether students, tourists or others, and as long as we invite someone to visit the United States, we have to set very high standards for them.”
Vice President Wences also called for the dismissal of those involved in supporting the Kork murder.Today, dozens of people across the United States have been dismissed for celebrating the Kork shooting, involving university staff, aviation pilots and other industry practitioners.Wans said: “We oppose political violence, but we firmly believe in the civilisation’s norm of celebrating political assassinations is uncivilized.”
Since January this year, the U.S. State Department has continued to tighten its visa policy.According to data released in August, the Trump administration has withdrawn more than 6,000 student visas since it took office.The policy is specifically aimed at student visa holders in support of Palestine, who claim to undermine U.S. foreign policy by supporting Hamas.In addition, last month, the State Department began a deportation crime review of all U.S. visa holders (over 55 million in total).
Red Star reporter Wang Yalin trainee reporter
Edited by Jan.