Jack Posobiec, a former Navy intelligence officer, called for the death penalty for convicted assassins after spending five days observing a Utah courtroom where prosecutors presented evidence against the man accused of killing the Turning Point USA founder.
Posobiec said that assassins are a cancer on society and that the death penalty should be sought for any assassin, arguing that such crimes threaten the First Amendment and the very way of life in America.
Current federal law and the 27 states that retain capital punishment do not automatically make assassination cases eligible for the death penalty, so lawmakers would need to expand the list of aggravating factors.
The case of the Turning Point USA founder’s murder at Utah Valley University in September 2025 is one of two high‑profile assassination cases currently in court.
Earlier in 2025, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot outside a New York City hotel, and the suspect, Luigi Mangione, will not face the death penalty because the alleged assassination could not be used as an aggravating factor under current law.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty in New York, where the death penalty is not available, and at the federal level.
The suspect in the Turning Point USA case, Tyler Robinson, has not yet entered a plea and is expected to do so in September when a judge will decide whether to proceed to trial.
Posobiec, who attended all five days of the hearing
