Accused assassin Tyler Robinson will remain in the jail's "special housing unit" after his mental health evaluation has been completed, Fox News reported. Robinson is being held on aggravated murder and other charges after allegedly gunning down Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
Kirk died at the hands of his alleged assassin, who, by all accounts, fired a single shot at the 31-year-old. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital, and Robinson has been charged with his killing as well as a felony weapons charge, two counts of witness tampering, and another charge for committing a violent offense with a child present.
Robinson was taken to the special housing for an evaluation, and he will remain there even as the Utah County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the screening was completed. "Robinson has been seen by our medical and mental health staff," Sgt. Ray Ormond told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
"Due to patient privacy regulations, I'm not able to [go] further into that. Robinson will stay in our special housing unit for the time being," Ormond said. There's no word on the particular results of the mental health screening that may be keeping Robinson there, and Ormond wouldn't disclose whether Robinson will stay there for good. "That's not set in stone, and his housing location may change down the road."
One of the reasons an inmate may stay in such a unit is because of concerns about his mental health or ability to get along in the general population. As the sheriff's office previously noted, Robinson was being kept there so officers could "keep an eye on him," which could suggest mental illness or other concerns.
The department further explained that a person might stay on "special watch" due to suicidal comments or ideation, violence, or other behavioral issues, and even the type of crime the inmate is accused of committing. Robinson has not made any suicidal threats that the sheriff's department is aware of, but authorities have not specified any additional reason why he's being so closely monitored.
While the public isn't being told much about his current condition, there's a good chance that his mental state will come up as part of the trial. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani speculates that the authorities' decision to leave Robinson in the special housing unit "suggests that he should not be housed with the general population," which hints at mental health issues, she told Fox News Digital.
"A full mental health evaluation will be conducted by his defense team to try to negotiate a plea deal to save his life, to put on an insanity or diminished capacity defense during the guilt phase, which is challenging under Utah law, or to put on evidence of mitigation during the death penalty phase," Rahmani added. Based on what is known about Robinson thus far, making the case that he's mentally ill will not be a far leap.
According to the New York Post, Robinson had a "furry fixation" and was living with Lance Twiggs, a 22-year-old gender-confused man who was transitioning to be a woman. Robinson reportedly had an account on FurAffinity.net, which features all sorts of disturbing images, including "sexualized images of cartoon animal characters," and possibly committed the crime for political motivations.
While authorities are mum on Robinson's possible suicidal tendencies, the 22-year-old suspect was wearing a suicide prevention vest during his first court hearing on Sept. 16 via video conference, which might suggest a motive for his continued residence in the special unit, as People noted last week. A still from that hearing was shared to X, formerly Twitter, by TheBlaze Media, showing a stone-faced Robinson wearing the vest with its velcro restraitns.
Alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson in his first court appearance: pic.twitter.com/MjwhCnXP1k
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 16, 2025
Although Robinson turned himself in to the authorities, he pleaded not guilty to the charges set by the state. The accused assassin is facing the death sentence in Utah, but as Newsweek noted, questions about Robinson's frame of mind or mental health during the alleged crime could take that option off the table.
Attorneys could assert that Robinson committed the crime while under "extreme emotional distress" as a mitigating factor. Utah law explains it as a situation where "a person acts under the influence of extreme emotional distress when he is exposed to extremely unusual and overwhelming stress that would cause the average reasonable person under the same circumstances to experience a loss of self-control and be overborne by intense feelings, such as passion, anger, distress, grief, excessive agitation, or other similar emotions."
Whatever the reasons for monitoring Robinson, there are still many questions left open about the alleged killer's motives and whether he had help in planning the attack. This was an unspeakably horrific crime committed in front of spectators that day and the millions who watched on social media, and careful steps must be taken to ensure justice is done.
