DONALD Trump has said authorities have found the killer of Charlie Kirk.
The US president told Fox News: "With a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody."
He says "somebody very close to him turned him in", adding he expects officials to give an update later today.
The suspect has since been named as Tyler Robinson.
Conservative activist Kirk, 31, was assassinated while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday.
Trump announced on Thursday he would posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
BREAKING: President Trump on Charlie Kirk suspected assassin: "I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody." pic.twitter.com/wAAGegrrWI
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 12, 2025
Kirk was a close ally of Trump and an influential online right-wing influencer and commentator.
Trump said he hopes Kirk's killer gets the death penalty, which is in force in Utah.
Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday had released photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible.
More than 7000 leads and tips had poured in, officials said.
Authorities have yet to publicly name the suspect or cite a motive in the killing, the latest act of political violence in the US.
“We cannot do our job without the public’s help,” governor Spencer Cox said during a Thursday news conference with FBI director Kash Patel, who did not speak.
The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a college-age appearance, fired one shot from a rooftop, according to authorities.
Video released on Thursday showed the person then walking through the grass and across the street before disappearing.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
Vice president JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited Kirk’s family on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Kirk’s coffin was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his non-profit political youth organisation, Turning Point USA, is based.
Trump told reporters he plans to attend Mr Kirk’s funeral. Details have not been announced.
