A 22-year-old Utah man suspected of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university forum has been arrested following a 33-hour nationwide manhunt, officials confirmed Friday.
Tyler Robinson was taken into custody Thursday night after a relative and family friend alerted authorities that he had confessed or “implied” involvement in the shooting, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said. “We got him,” Cox told reporters, praising the family members for helping law enforcement.
The FBI said Robinson’s capture came after more than 11,000 tips, the highest volume since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Security camera images and evidence from Robinson’s Discord account also linked him to the killing, investigators said.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot Wednesday evening by a sniper’s single round while addressing an outdoor forum at Utah Valley University attended by some 3,000 people. A bolt-action rifle believed to be the murder weapon was later recovered. Former President Donald Trump, a close ally of Kirk, denounced the shooting as a “heinous assassination.”
The murder has drawn bipartisan condemnation and global outrage. “It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals,” Cox said, calling the killing a watershed moment comparable to the wave of U.S. political assassinations in the 1960s.
Erika Kirk, the activist’s widow, delivered an emotional livestream on Friday, vowing that “the movement built by my husband will not die” and pledging to continue his influential radio-podcast show. She thanked law enforcement “who worked tirelessly to capture my husband’s assassin.”
Robinson, a third-year electrical apprentice student at Dixie Technical College, had no prior criminal record, officials said. He lived with his family in Washington County and was described as quiet but increasingly political in recent years. A shell casing recovered from the scene was inscribed with the message: “Here fascist! CATCH,” Cox revealed.
The suspect faces charges of aggravated murder, felony firearm discharge causing serious injury, and obstruction of justice. He is being held at Utah County jail and is expected to be formally charged next week.
Kirk, co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was on the “American Comeback Tour” of U.S. college campuses when he was killed. He was regarded as one of the most influential young voices on the American right, frequently sparking heated debates over race, immigration, gender, and gun rights.
FBI Director Kash Patel offered a personal tribute, saying, “Rest now brother, we have the watch. I’ll see you in Valhalla.”
As tributes poured in, Cox warned that America’s deepening climate of political violence threatens its democracy. “We will never be able to solve our problems if we can’t have a clash of ideas safely and securely,” he said.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
