Tyler Robinson, the man accused of shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and weapons offenses. Robinson is being held without bail at a county jail in Utah, court documents show. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Friday that law enforcement arrested Robinson after his family alerted authorities that he had admitted or at least hinted at involvement in the shooting.
Robinson has not yet been formally charged, but Utah authorities have said they intend to file charges early next week.
Kirk, 31, is the executive director of the conservative organization Turning Point USA and a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump. He was shot in the neck on Wednesday while attending an outdoor event on campus attended by more than 3,000 people at Utah Valley University, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. He died after being taken to a hospital.
hunt
The shooting sparked a joint manhunt by federal, state and local authorities. Investigators from Utah Valley University and the FBI reviewed surveillance video and discovered that a man arrived on campus in a gray Dodge Challenger on the morning of September 10.
The video shows the suspect wearing a maroon T-shirt, light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo on his head, and light-colored shoes. Cox said Robinson's clothing matched the image when investigators encountered him early Friday in Washington County in southwestern Utah.
"Of course this is about the tragic death, the assassination, the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, but this is far more than an attack on an individual, it's an attack on all of us," said Cox, who called for the death penalty to be sought in the case.
A family member told investigators that Robinson had become more interested in politics in recent years, authorities said at a news conference Friday. The relative recalled that at a dinner shortly before the murder, Robinson mentioned Kirk's plans to speak at Utah Valley University and criticized him for being "hateful and spreading hate." The relative also confirmed Robinson drove a gray Challenger.
Investigators also interviewed Robinson's roommates. Roommates said Robinson had made jokes on Discord. Upon further questioning, the roommate opened the app and allowed investigators to take screenshots of messages with a contact named "Tyler." The messages mention retrieving the rifle from its storage location, wrapping it in a towel and hiding it in bushes, engraving bullets and using special scopes. One of the messages also mentioned that Robinson had changed his clothes.
Trump first revealed in an interview with Fox News that the suspect had been arrested.
"I hope he will be found guilty, of course I do, and I hope he will get the death penalty," Trump said. "What he did. Charlie Kirk was the nicest guy and he didn't deserve this. He worked so hard and was so good. Everybody loved him."