A young Utah man suspected of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a university forum has been taken into custody, U.S. officials said, as leaders across the political spectrum expressed sorrow and outrage at the latest outbreak of political violence.
“We got him,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters on Friday, announcing the arrest of Tyler Robinson, 22, after an intense 33-hour manhunt involving local and federal law enforcement.
Kirk, 31, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, was shot dead by a sniper on Wednesday as he addressed a crowd of 3,000 at Utah Valley University in Orem. Trump denounced the attack as a “heinous assassination.”
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Robinson was captured on Thursday night, noting the agency had received more than 11,000 tips the most since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Robinson’s arrest came after a relative and family friend alerted authorities that he had confessed, or “implied that he had committed” the murder, Governor Cox said.
“I want to thank the family members of Tyler Robinson who did the right thing in this case,” Cox added.
Investigators also linked Robinson to the crime through security camera footage and evidence from his profile on Discord. A bolt-action rifle believed to be the murder weapon was recovered nearby.
Kirk’s death has stirred outrage among supporters and drawn condemnation of political violence from Democrats, Republicans, and foreign governments.
“It is an attack on all of us,” Cox said, calling the killing a “watershed in American history” and comparing it to the wave of U.S. political assassinations in the 1960s. “It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals.”
Also Read:Â Charlie Kirk Shot Dead at Utah University Event
In an emotional livestream on Friday, Kirk’s widow Erika vowed to continue her husband’s work. “The movement built by my husband will not die,” she said, thanking law enforcement “who worked tirelessly to capture my husband’s assassin.”
Suspect’s Profile
Robinson, a third-year electrical apprenticeship student at Dixie Technical College, had no known criminal history. A family member told investigators he had become increasingly political in recent years and expressed dislike for Kirk’s views.
Governor Cox revealed that one of the inscriptions found on ammunition casings read: “Here fascist! CATCH.”
Robinson faces charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, and obstruction of justice. He is being held in Utah County jail and is expected to be formally charged next week.
Tributes and Legacy
Kirk, co-founder of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was a prominent figure in Republican politics, often engaging in fiery debates on race, gender, immigration, and gun rights.
FBI Director Patel offered a personal tribute: “Rest now brother, we have the watch. I’ll see you in Valhalla.”
From the studio of The Charlie Kirk Show, Erika Kirk described her husband as a martyr: “Now and for all eternity he will stand at his savior’s side wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.”
Kirk had been touring campuses on his “American Comeback Tour” and had recently returned from engagements in South Korea and Japan.
Governor Cox emphasised the broader stakes: “We will never be able to solve all the other problems, including the violence problems that people are worried about, if we can’t have a clash of ideas, safely and securely. That’s why this matters so much.”
