Charlie Kirk assassination suspect has been caught, and he is not a Democrat

The suspect accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been identified as 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson, and officials say there’s no indication he’s affiliated with the Democratic Party. Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced Robinson’s arrest, stating that investigators apprehended him after analyzing surveillance footage, interviewing his family, and reviewing online messages. “We got him,” Cox declared at a press conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and other law enforcement officials, per NBC.

Governor Cox detailed that a family member of Robinson’s contacted a friend, who then alerted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, indicating that Robinson had confessed or implied he was responsible for the shooting. According to Cox, an interview with a family member revealed that Robinson had “become more political in recent years.” The family member recalled a dinner prior to September 10 where Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk’s upcoming appearance at UVU and expressed his dislike for Kirk’s viewpoints.

Investigators also interviewed Robinson’s roommate, who provided access to Discord messages. These messages, attributed to a user named Tyler, reportedly discussed the need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, engraving bullets, leaving the rifle wrapped in a towel, and mentioned a scope and a unique rifle. Authorities later recovered a “high-powered, bolt-action rifle” in a wooded area near the university campus, matching the description in Robinson’s messages.

The suspect in Charlie Kirk’s shooting has been caught

The rifle was identified as a Mauser model 9830 odd six caliber bolt-action rifle with a scope. Inscriptions were found on the casings recovered with the rifle. One casing bore lyrics from the Italian folk song “Bella Ciao,” another read, “Hey fascists! Catch!” with directional arrows, and a third stated, “If you read this, you are gay LMAO.” The inscription on the fired casing included, “notices, bulges, OWO, what’s this?”

Surveillance footage from Utah Valley University showed Robinson arriving on campus at 8:29 AM on Wednesday in a gray Dodge Challenger. When arrested early Friday morning, Robinson was observed wearing clothing consistent with the surveillance images. Public records searches for Tyler Robinson, born in 2003, revealed no prior criminal record. His last voter registration date was July 13, 2021, and he declared no political party affiliation. Robinson briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021.

President Donald Trump, who was among the first to announce Kirk’s death, also confirmed the suspect’s apprehension. “I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him — in custody,” Trump stated in an interview, crediting the swift work of local police, the governor, and federal agencies. Trump suggested that the suspect’s father played a role in his son’s surrender.

Governor Cox described Kirk’s killing as a “tragic death, assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk,” and stated it was “an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals.” Turning Point USA had previously stated that Kirk faced “thousands” of threats but always prioritized reaching young Americans.