The suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk, the influential co-founder of the right-wing youth activist group Turning Point USA, has been named as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
According to an “Affidavit of Probable Cause,” filed by the Utah State Court and reviewed by TIME, Robinson was arrested in Washington County on Sept. 9 at 4 a.m., local time, for three offenses: “Aggravated murder, Felony discharge of firearm causing serious bodily injury, and Obstruction of justice.”
He’s currently being held without bail at Utah County Jail.
“We got him,” said Utah’s Gov. Spencer Cox, flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel and other federal officials, during a press conference on Friday morning.
“On the evening of Sept. 11, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend, who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them, or implied, that he had committed the incident,” said Cox, adding that Robinson had allegedly mentioned that Kirk would be speaking at the Utah Valley University to a family member at dinner, prior to the event taking place on Sept. 10.
Cox said a family member had also told the authorities that Robinson “had become more political in recent years” and had criticised Kirk, claiming he was “full of hate.
Investigators reviewed additional video from Utah Valley University surveillance and identified Robinson arriving on campus in a grey Dodge Challenger at approximately 8.29 a.m., local time, on the day Kirk was fatally shot.
Investigators then interviewed Robinson’s roommate, who showed them messages between him and an account with the name “Tyler” on the messaging app Discord.
The messages from “Tyler” stated the need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving it in a bush, watching the area where the rifle was left, and having left the weapon wrapped up in a towel. The messages also mentioned that the rifle was “unique” and the bullets engraved.
Per Cox, investigators uncovered bullet casings that had various inscriptions engraved on them. The casing that had been fired read: “Notices bulges OWO what’s this?”
Three unfired casings were also found. One read: “Hey fascist! Catch!” with an up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols. Another was engraved with the words: “Oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao.” A third read: “If you read this you are gay lmao.”
A motive for the crime has not yet been publicly identified. Cox said he thought Robinson acted alone and at this point there is no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved.
“I want to thank the family members of Tyler Robinson, who did the right thing in this case and were able to bring him into law enforcement,” said Cox.
“This is what happens when you let good cops be cops,” said Patel. “The FBI and our partners are proud to stand here today together to bring justice to the family of Charlie Kirk and honor his memory.”
Patel also thanked the public effort, sharing that as of Friday morning, 11,000 leads had been provided to the FBI.
Highlighting that the case is still “very much an ongoing investigation,” Patel said the FBI “will continue to work with state and local authorities to develop the investigation, to provide them the evidence they need for their ongoing prosecutions.”
“Lastly, to my friend, Charlie Kirk. Rest now brother, we have the watch, and I’ll see you in Valhalla,” Patel concluded.
What do we know about the suspect, Tyler Robinson?
The 22-year-old is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, the Utah Board of Higher Education confirmed on Friday.
The college is in St. George, which is based in Washington County, where Robinson was apprehended by law enforcement.
Utah State University, based in Logan, confirmed Friday that Robinson had attended the school “briefly” for one semester in 2021. In an email to TIME, Utah State University said Robinson was a pre-engineering major, and took classes consistent with that major, after which he took a leave of absence.
As mentioned, according to Gov. Cox, a family member told investigators that Robinson had become “more political” in recent years and was critical of Kirk, who he believed was “full of hate.”
The shooting and investigation leading up to the suspect being caught
The fatal shooting of Kirk occurred on Wednesday at around 12:20 p.m., local time, as he was addressing the crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on the first stop of his fall campus tour. He was surrounded by around 3,000 attendees when he was struck in the neck.
Prior to the capture of Robinson, two people were taken into custody on the day of the shooting, but were swiftly released after the police determined that they had not been involved.
Shortly before Gov. Cox and the FBI held a press conference on Friday morning, President Donald Trump had said during a live interview on Fox and Friends that he thought the suspect, “the person that they wanted,” had been caught.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody,” Trump said in the New York Fox News studio. The President warned that the information was preliminary, adding that he had been told the update “five minutes” before stepping onto the set.
The FBI had released a video of the suspect along with additional photos on Thursday night and reiterated its request for the public to come forward with any information.
CCTV footage from the Utah Valley University parking lot shows a person—now thought to be Robinson—running across a building roof, from where they are believed to have shot at Kirk. The person can be seen climbing down from the roof, before walking to a road which they begin to cross.
The FBI said Thursday night that the suspect left shoe impressions on the rooftop, as well as a forearm and palm print. The ammunition and weapon used in the attack was also found in a nearby wooded area.
Gov. Cox had pledged to pursue the death penalty once the suspect was caught.
Speaking at the press conference on Thursday night, Cox issued a warning, particularly to those using social media, regarding disinformation in the quickly-moving case.
“I think Charlie said it best, that when things get bad we should put our phones down and spend a little time with our families,” said Cox. “There is a tremendous amount of disinformation we are tracking… Our adversaries want violence. We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence.”
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