Accused Charlie Kirk killer cried tears of regret after the shooting, roommate tells court

A video interview with Lance Twiggs, left, Tyler Robinson's roommate and reported romantic partner, is shown during a preliminary hearing for Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, on July 9, 2026. Photo by Spenser Heaps - Pool/Getty Images

Article content

LOS ANGELES — The man accused of murdering influential right-wing campaigner Charlie Kirk broke down in tears of regret days after the killing, according to video testimony played in a U.S. court on Thursday.

Article content

The testimony came on the fourth day of a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to try 23-year-old Tyler Robinson for the university campus assassination of the influential Kirk, a supporter of Donald Trump who was credited with mobilizing a huge youth vote for the 80-year-old Republican president.

Article content

Article content

Article content

“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before, and he said it was,” Robinson’s roommate Lance Twiggs told investigators in the taped interview.

Article content

Article content

“He started crying a little bit, and said he wishes he hadn’t done it.”

Article content

Robinson faces the death penalty if he is found guilty of shooting Kirk on a Utah campus last September, in a crime that sent shock waves through the United States, and roiled right-wing politics.

Article content

Investigators earlier revealed that Robinson had confessed to the murder via text messages to Twiggs, in which he indicated he was fed up with the “hatred” Kirk spread.

Article content

His relationship with Twiggs has been the subject of fascination in the U.S., where the case is being closely followed.

Article content

Twiggs, who is transitioning to become a woman, was not merely a roommate but was also in a romantic relationship with Robinson, with fevered online speculation that this may have provided a motive for the murder of Kirk, a Christian nationalist who was highly critical of the LGBT community and transgender people.

Article content

Speaking to investigators, Twiggs acknowledged that Robinson sometimes discussed politics.

Article content

Article content

“He usually talked about stuff he heard on the radio on his drive to work,” the witness recounted. But prior to the murder, “I personally had never heard him talk about Charlie Kirk before specifically.”

Article content

Article content

Twiggs also said the couple had “not really” discussed the situation of transgender people and the LGBT community in the United States.

Article content

They first met in 2023 — initially just as roommates — before beginning a romantic relationship “two or three months” after Robinson moved in, Twiggs told investigators.

Article content

Robinson has not yet indicated how he intends to plead.

Article content

This current set of proceedings, in Utah, is expected to finish on Friday.

Article content

Prosecutors display what they say is a text message exchange between Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, and Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner Lance Twiggs, is displayed during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, on July 9, 2026. Photo by Spenser Heaps - Pool/Getty Images

Article content

Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September, at a hearing in court in Provo, Utah, on Dec. 11, 2025. Photo by Rick Egan-Pool/Getty Images

Article content

Article content