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LAST UPDATE | 12 Sep
UTAH POLICE HAVE detained a man they believe assassinated Charlie Kirk.
At a press conference today, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Tyler Robinson (22) was arrested at 10pm last night local time after a family friend tipped off law enforcement.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the pace at which officers investigated as “historic” and said: “This is what happens when you let good cops be cops.”
They are following more than 11,000 lines of enquiry as part of the investigation. Robinson is in Utah County Jail and “will be charged soon”, Governor Cox said. He also said they don’t have any additional information that they think will lead to any more arrests.
Robinson was not a student at Utah Valley University, where the shooting took place, but lived with his family in Washington county, south Utah.
Governor Cox said a family member of Robinson’s contacted a friend, who then tipped off the Washington County Sherrif’s Office “with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident”.
Investigators reviewed additional video footage from UVU surveillance and identified a man arriving on the campus in a grey Dodge Challenger car at around 8:29am on Wednesday, the day of the shooting.
He was observed on video in a plain maroon t-shirt, light-coloured shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light-coloured shoes.
When confronted by investigators in Washington County in the early hours of this morning, Robinson was seen to be wearing clothing consistent with those surveillance images.
Earlier, the FBI released video footage showing the shooter running across a roof, jumping down from a height and running off.
Police believe Robinson changed clothes while he was on the roof, but changed back later.
Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson who said he had become “more political” in recent years.
“The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to 10 September, and in the conversation with another family member, Robinson, mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming,” Governor Cox said.
“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had.
“The family member also said Robinson was full of hate and spreading hate.
They were able to confirm to police that Robinson had a gray Dodge Challenger.
Police also interviewed his roommate who showed them messages written by Robinson on Discord.
“The content of these messages included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler (Robinson), stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush,” Cox said.
“The messages related to a to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel.
“The messages also refer to engraving bullets and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique.”
Investigators found a Mauser .30-calibre rifle wrapped in a target filler towel in a grassy area on the edge of the campus. The rifle had a scope mounted on top of it.
Inscriptions had been engraved on casings found with the rifle.
The inscription on one of the unfired casings read: “Hey fascist! Catch!”
Another read: “Oh Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao, Ciao.”
Bella Ciao is an Italian anti-fascism song. There is a remix version of the song on a Spotify playlist called “Groyper War (America First)”. Groyper War refers to the targetting of far-right nationalists, including Charlie Kirk.
The third unfired casing said: “If you read this, you are gay.”
Kirk was a far-right provocateur who became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues, clips of which then frequently went viral.
He held a number of extreme political views, including indulging in conspiracy theories about immigration and the 2020 presidential election. He was also openly homophobic - at one point describing a bible verse dictating that gay people should be stoned to death as “God’s perfect law”.
He repeatedly sought to connect race with levels of criminality and also questioned the ability of black people to perform jobs such as pilots or surgeons.
Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the US, while vice president JD Vance and his wife, Usha, arrived yesterday afternoon in Salt Lake City to visit with Kirk’s family.
Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organisation, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral.
Details of the funeral have not been announced.
Students at the Utah Valley University described their shock, and their broader fears as political divisions deepen across the country.
Taking questions at the end, Governor Cox said: “I absolutely believe that this is a watershed in American history.”
The politician held back tears as he described how the event affected him.
“Over the last 48 hours, I have been as angry as I have ever been, as sad as I have ever been, and as anger pushed me to the brink, it was actually Charlie’s words that pulled me back.
“Charlie said when people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. He said the weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
He urged the public to not let this event divide them and to spend time off social media.
“It’s important to stay grounded, turn off your phone, read scripture, spend time with friends and remember internet Fury is not real life. It’s going to be okay.
“I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence. Violence is violence.
“And there is one person responsible for what happened here, and that person is now in custody and will be charged soon and will be held accountable.”
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