A 22-year-old man from Utah has been arrested in connection with the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University.
“We got him,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters while announcing the arrest of Tyler Robinson. He was taken into custody Thursday night and is expected to appear in court early next week. Investigators believe Robinson acted alone in Wednesday’s shooting.
Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, was a prominent podcaster, and an ally of President Donald Trump.
He had spearheaded efforts to reshape the GOP’s voter outreach in 2024, convinced that many Trump supporters who rarely voted could be mobilised.
His killing marks the latest in a series of violent attacks targeting U.S. political figures across party lines.
Arrest of the suspect
Governor Cox, a Republican, said Robinson was identified after one of his relatives confided to a friend that Robinson had admitted or hinted he carried out the shooting.
“I want to thank the family members of Tyler Robinson who did the right thing,” Cox said.
According to a law enforcement official, Robinson’s father recognised him from images released by police and urged him to surrender. Initially, he resisted, but later, with the help of a youth pastor, he agreed to turn himself in. The official spoke anonymously to The Associated Press because the investigation is ongoing.
Robinson is being held at the Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, and obstruction of justice. A judge ordered him to remain in custody without bail. Formal charges are expected by Tuesday, the Utah County attorney’s office said.
Authorities recovered a rifle hidden in a towel in a wooded area near the campus. It had a spent cartridge in the chamber and three rounds still in the magazine. Ammunition recovered at the scene carried engravings with taunts, anti-fascist slogans, and meme-style messages, Cox said.
Cox added that Robinson’s family told investigators he had become “more political in recent years” and had voiced criticism of Kirk. At a recent family dinner, Robinson mentioned Kirk’s upcoming appearance at the university and questioned whether he was “spreading hate.”
“This is someone who hated Charlie Kirk, and hated his message and hated what he was doing — and decided to use political violence to end his life… This is an assault on not just him, but on all of us,” Cox told Fox News.
Who is Tyler James Robinson?
Robinson had been admitted to Utah State University on an academic scholarship, a moment his family shared on social media. But according to a school spokesperson, he attended only for a semester in 2021.
He later enrolled at Dixie Technical College near his family’s home in Washington, Utah, a city of about 30,000 people, some 240 miles from the Orem campus where the attack occurred. At the time of his arrest, Robinson was in his third year of an electrical apprenticeship programme.
Public records list his address as his parents’ home. He is registered as an unaffiliated voter and does not appear to have a prior criminal record.
On Friday, police were stationed outside the Robinson family residence, where blinds were drawn and a pickup truck was parked to block the driveway.
With Associated Press inputs
