A suspect in the assassination of conservative activist and close Trump ally Charlie Kirk has been identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced on Friday.
“We got him,” Cox said at a news conference to announce the arrest of Robinson who was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of capital murder, weapons and obstruction offenses.
Kirk, 31, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in the neck during an outdoor speaking event at Utah Valley University Wednesday.
Cox said Robinson confessed to a family member who reached out to a friend Thursday night, who then contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The arrest brought an end to the 33-hour manhunt, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The suspect is said to be listed as politically “unaffiliated,” although both his parents are believed to be Republicans.
Cox said the suspect arrived on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday at 8:29 a.m. in a gray Dodge Challenger. He was wearing a plain maroon t-shirt, light shorts, and a black hat with a white logo, as seen in surveillance videos. He wore the same clothes when he was arrested on Thursday night.
Robinson was not a student at the Utah Valley University, where the shooting happened.
“He was living, and had lived for a long time, with his family in Washington County,” Cox said.
Utah voting information seen by The Independent shows his voter status is “inactive,” meaning he has not voted in the last two general elections or responded to notices sent by a county clerk. His party affiliation is listed as “unaffiliated.”
However, family members said Robinson had become “more political in recent years,” expressed negative views of Kirk and told family members he believed the Turning Point USA founder was “full of hate and spreading hate,” Cox said.
He revealed that the family member told investigators that at a recent family dinner, Robinson had mentioned Kirk’s upcoming Utah Valley event, and “they talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had.”
After the shooting, Cox said Robinson’s father recognized his son in photos that law enforcement released and reached out to a family friend, who happened to be a minster, to encourage Robinson to turn himself in.
Trump had revealed some of those details while announcing the suspected shooter was in custody on Fox & Friends just hours before the press conference.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump said. The president said that “somebody close” to the suspect turned him in, before expressing “hope” that he receives the death sentence.
The minister, who is also involved with law enforcement, called authorities to arrest Robinson. The suspected shooter was arrested approximately 250 miles southwest of the university, in St. George, Utah. Law enforcement officials said physical evidence found at the scene of the shooting was tied to Robinson.
Robinson was being held Friday at the Utah County Jail.
He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm, and obstruction of justice charges, according to a court affidavit. A judge ordered that he be held without bail.
Cox said Robinson's roommate showed investigators a number of Discord messages from the suspect, including ones that said he needed to get a rifle from a drop point and another about leaving that rifle in a bush.
“The content of these included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler, stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel,” Cox said.
Ammunition inside the rifle was engraved with messages that included “If you read this, you are gay lmao” and “notices bulge OWO what’s this?” One read, “Hey, fascist! Catch!” with an up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols.
Another said, “oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao” – an apparent reference to “Bella ciao,” an Italian song dedicated to those who fought against fascism during World War II. However, both “Bella ciao” and the arrows symbol could be references to the video game Helldivers.
What we know about suspect's family
Robinson’s parents are registered as Republicans, according to the The Wall Street Journal. Roughly half of Utah voters are Republicans, while about a quarter are unaffiliated voters.
Robinson’s father, who is a deputy with the Washington County Sheriff's Office, also owns Distinctive Stone LLC, a kitchen countertop business. His mother is a social worker who works at Intermountain Support Coordination as a contractor for the state of Utah, according to online records viewed by The Independent.
A Facebook video Robinson’s mother posted in 2021 reveals the suspect had a resident presidential scholarship to Utah State University. A spokesperson for the university said in a statement Friday that Robinson “briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021,” CNN reported.
What we know about the shooting
Robinson is expected to be charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by NBC News.
Authorities have not commented on a potential motive in the killing but Cox said officials believe the suspect acted alone in the shooting and said they don’t have any information that would lead to any additional arrests, but added that the investigation is ongoing.
The Utah governor then called for the country to unite and said he believed that Americans can help “change the course of history.”
“I desperately call on every American – Republican, Democrat, liberal, progressive, conservative, MAGA, all of us – to please, please, please follow what Charlie taught me.”
Kirk’s death has rattled Republicans, including the president and his family. It marks the latest in a string of political violence that has deepened rifts within the country and made lawmakers worried for their safety.
The news comes less than 24 hours after the FBI and Utah Department of Safety released new footage showing a suspect jumping from a rooftop at Utah Valley University before fleeing into nearby trees moments later.
Authorities also shared new images of the suspect, clearly showing he was wearing a long-sleeve black shirt with an American flag on it. He was also wearing dark pants, canvas shoes, a blue cap, a black backpack and sunglasses. The photos show the suspect moving up and down staircases.
The FBI had asked the public for help in capturing Kirk’s assassin, offering a a reward of up to $100,000.
FBI Special Agent in Charge in Salt Lake City, Robert Bohls, said the shooting was a “targeted event.”
The suspect was seen on video arriving on campus at 11:52 a.m. From there, he moved through stairwells and onto a roof, investigators said. He was later seen moving across the roof and jumping off the building to flee campus.
Investigators have gone into the nearby neighborhoods to collect any doorbell camera footage of the suspect.
Officials believe the gunman shot from the Losee Center, around 150 yards from where Kirk was speaking.
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Mason also urged the public to avoid harassing two persons of interest who were detained in the immediate aftermath of the shooting but later released.
One of the two people detained was an older man seen in photos that circulated online shortly after the killing.
Officials said he had been charged with obstruction by university police. The other man had been initially described by officials as a “person of interest” but was also let go.
How the shooting unfolded
Kirk, a close ally of Trump, was hosting a student-sponsored event with his organization, Turning Point USA, on Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University in Orem, a suburb of Provo, Utah.
The conservative media personality was on the first stop of a tour of college campuses, dubbed the “American Comeback Tour,” to speak with young Republican voters.
Shortly after noon, a single gunshot was heard. Footage from the scene showed Kirk had been hit in the neck.
The large crowd of young conservatives appeared momentarily stunned, then quickly ducked down, running and screaming.
Kirk was lifted up by his security team and carried to a waiting SUV. He was rushed to the hospital, and Trump later announced his death.
Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Lane Kirk, and their two young children.
His coffin was transported to his home in Arizona on Air Force Two with Vice President JD Vance Thursday.
Trump announced during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon earlier in the day Kirk would posthumously receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, considered the highest civilian award.
When asked Thursday if he was concerned for his own safety, Trump, who was the target of two assassination attempts during the 2024 election cycle, said, “Not really.”
“I’m really concerned for our country. We have a great country. We have a radical left group of lunatics out there,” Trump said outside the White House. “And we’re gonna get that problem solved.”
Kirk’s campus event was ‘met with divided opinion’
Kirk was hosting his organization’s “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot.
The event was met with divided opinions on campus ahead of time.
An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. There were reportedly around 3,000 at Kirk’s event.
The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”
