‪Utah Man Suspected in Charlie Kirk Murder Taken Into Custody

OREM, Utah, Sept 12 (Reuters) – A young Utah man suspected of killing the influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university in the city of Orem was in custody on Friday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters.

“We got him,” Cox told reporters.

The suspect, identified as Tyler Robinson, had confessed to a family friend – or “implied that he had committed the murder” to that friend – and that person in turn had contacted the Washington County sheriff’s office on Thursday.

A family member interviewed by investigators said Robinson had become more political recently and spoke in a disparaging manner about Kirk, Cox told reporters. Robinson was taken into custody on Thursday night, about 33 hours after Kirk’s murder, FBI Director Kash Patel said at the press conference.

Kirk, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was killed by a single bullet as he spoke onstage at an outdoor amphitheatre at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Tyler Robinson Mugshots.

Investigators spoke to Robinson’s roommate, who showed them comments Robinson had made on Discord, a chat and streaming platform popular with gamers, discussing retrieving a rifle from a drop point and then leaving the rifle in a bush wrapped in a towel. This matched the description of the gun that authorities recovered after the shooting in a wooded area near campus.

Ammunition found at the scene had been inscribed, Cox said. The messages on the casing included: “What’s this;” “Oh, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao;” “If you read this, you are gay, LMAO;” and “Hey fascist, catch!,” Cox told reporters.

Kirk, a well-connected activist, author and podcast host, helped build support for Trump and the Republican Party among younger voters.