FBI arrests suspect in Charlie Kirk murder: Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident

U.S. President Donald Trump announced this Friday in an interview on Fox News’ morning show that he believes with “a high degree of certainty” that the killer of his ally Charlie Kirk is “in custody.” Trump, who did not offer further details, explained that “I just heard about it five minutes before I walked in.”

According to Trump, someone “very close to [the suspect] turned him in.” He added that authorities would provide more information throughout Friday. “Everyone did a great job. We worked with the local police, the governor,” he added.

After Trump’s big announcement, several U.S. media outlets reported a name: Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident, an identity later confirmed by the state’s governor, Spencer Cox, at a press conference in Orem, a town near Salt Lake City where the university is located at which Kirk lost his life while speaking to a crowd at an outdoor event. Despite earlier speculation, authorities confirmed that the suspect was not a student at that institution.

Robinson reportedly spoke about his alleged crime within his family, Cox said, which led a family member to alert the authorities. By 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, he was in custody

The Utah governor detailed incriminating messages found by investigators, as well as inscriptions discovered on both the cartridges Robinson fired and those he did not use. One read: “Hey, fascist! Catch!” On another, the suspect repeatedly carved “Bella Ciao,” two words taken from a famous Italian anti-fascist song. According to Cox, the suspect “had become more political in recent years” and viewed Kirk’s public persona as harmful, accusing him of spreading hate.

In light of these revelations, something that had been assumed from the start was confirmed: that his crime must be viewed within the context of the long history of political violence in the United States, a country that has seen four presidents assassinated while in office.

Cox was not only responsible for providing the main details; he also returned to the microphone shortly afterward to criticize social media (“they are a cancer on our society”) and to make a passionate call to put aside the divisions that have surfaced in recent days following Kirk’s murder. “I still believe in our country,” he said. “I still believe that there is more good among us than evil.”

Before Cox, FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the media to defend the work of the FBI, which had faced criticism in recent days after Patel himself announced on X the arrest of a killer who turned out not to be the suspect.

“This is what happens when you let good cops be cops,” the FBI director said, praising the speed with which the investigation was resolved: “less than 36 hours; 33, to be precise.” The suspect was “apprehended in a historic time period,” according to Patel, who provided details on the agents’ supposed efficiency (they received “over 11,000 leads” and arrived at the crime scene in just 16 minutes). He concluded his speech with a tribute to his “friend” Kirk and an unconventional farewell: “I’ll see you in Valhalla,” Patel said.

According to initial reports, Robinson lives in Washington County, in the far southwest of Utah, bordering neighboring Nevada — about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from Orem, the site of the crime. The man, according to Utah Governor Spencer Cox, could face the death penalty, which is legal in the state. On Friday, Trump expressed his support for the hope that the alleged killer will be executed.

Regarding the lead that led to the detention, the Republican said it was a religious minister — “a friend” of someone involved in the investigation — who convinced the suspect’s father of the advisability of turning him in.

Shortly before the suspect was arrested on Thursday night, the FBI had announced shortly before that, at a disappointing press conference in Orem, that the individual was still at large. He committed his crime in front of a crowd and from a distance of about 70 meters. He fired a single bullet, which struck the 31-year-old in the neck. The shooting sparked panic on the Utah Valley University campus.

“Like a son”

In an appearance on Fox & Friends — a staple format of the conservative network, with three hosts sitting on white sofas against a New York backdrop, and perhaps the show that has given Trump the most airtime since he entered politics — Trump said that Kirk was “like a son” to him. The president added that Kirk was “a brilliant guy,” who “helped me with TikTok,” during his election campaign.

Kirk was essential in mobilizing the youth vote, and since he appeared on the scene 13 years ago, when he was only 18, he had worked tirelessly to attract young people, especially young men, to the MAGA movement. “I’ve never seen young people go to one person like they did to Charlie,” said Trump.

The U.S. president did not miss the opportunity to place all the blame for the growing wave of political violence sweeping the country on the left. When asked — somewhat cautiously — whether “right-wing radicals” might also be part of the problem, Trump replied: “The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime.” “The radicals on the left are the problem,” he said.

The U.S. president also revealed that he did not want to watch the video of the moment when the bullet struck Kirk in the neck while he was in the middle of one of the events he often organized at universities across the country to spark debate within those generally progressive-leaning institutions. Trump, who confirmed that he would attend the funeral of the ultraconservative commentator, said “I didn’t want to remember Charlie that way” and described the video — where Kirk is seen dying as blood gushes from his neck — as “horrific.” That moment, captured by hundreds of cell phones among the nearly three thousand attendees, spread like wildfire across the internet.

According to the initial findings of the investigation, the suspect committed the crime with a “high-powered” hunting rifle that agents found in a nearby wooded area wrapped in a towel. On Thursday, the FBI published two photos of the suspect on its X account and offered a $100,000 reward for any tip that might lead to the capture of the alleged killer. Later it became known that Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino were on their way to Salt Lake City to take part in the investigation efforts and, ultimately, in a big announcement that never came.

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