Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk, was arrested late Thursday night, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed at a news conference on Friday — ending a 33-hour manhunt. Robinson was arrested in St George, Utah, which is about 250 miles from Utah Valley University, the site of Wednesday's assassination.
Cox's announcement came hours after President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that a suspect was placed in custody.
According to The Associated Press, Tyler James Robinson attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021. State records said Robinson was a registered voter but was not affiliated with a political party.
The family of Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah man, told officials that he has become "more political in recent years," Cox said. Cox said that Robinson opposed Kirk's political views.
"A family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to Sept. 10 and, in the conversation with another family member, mentioned that Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU," Cox said. "They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had."
In that same conversation, Robinson and the family member reportedly said that they believed Kirk was "full of hate" and "spreading hate," according to Cox.
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Cox said that ammunition casings found at the crime scene included messages engraved that said, "Hey Fascist! Catch!" and "If you read this, you are Gay, LMAO."
Cox said Robinson's roommate showed investigators messages that he had reportedly sent on the Discord app discussing the need to “retrieve a rifle from a drop point.”
Officials said that a member of Robinson's family reached out to a family friend, who then contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office and said that Robinson had confessed or implied he had killed Kirk.
Law enforcement found surveillance video from the day of the shooting that they said showed Robinson arriving at the Utah Valley University campus in a gray Dodge Challenger around 8:20 a.m., wearing a plain maroon shirt, light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light-colored shoes.
When investigators encountered Robinson in person in Washington County in the early morning hours of Sept. 12, he was wearing similar clothing to that of the surveillance images from the morning of the shooting.
Cox said that he expects charges to be filed against Robinson by early next week. Cox said he does not anticipate anyone else will be charged, and law enforcement believed that Robinson acted alone.
President Trump said he hopes the shooter gets the death penalty. He indicated in the interview that there was help from a minister who works with law enforcement, who knows a U.S. Marshall, and “they took it from there.”
"Somebody very close to him said, 'That's him,'" President Trump said. "And essentially went to the father, who went to a U.S. Marshal, who is fantastic and the person was involved with law enforcement, but was a person of faith, a minister. And brought him to a U.S. Marshal, who is fantastic, and the father convinced the son that this is it."
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On Thursday, officials released photos of a "person of interest," depicting a young adult male wearing a hat, sunglasses and a T-shirt with an American Flag and an eagle on it.
Later that night, the FBI released video footage showing what they believed to be the suspect running across the top of a building at the school before jumping to the ground.
As of Thursday evening, the FBI had received over 7,000 tips related to the case. Officials said the volume of tips outnumbered those involving the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist closely aligned with President Trump, was killed on Wednesday during a speaking event at Utah Valley University. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and two young children.
Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a right-wing political nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses across the U.S. — making him a major figure and voice within the young conservative movement, with millions of followers across his various social media platforms.
He was at the university on Wednesday to kick off his "The American Comeback Tour," where he engaged students through political debates under tents branded with phrases like "Prove Me Wrong."
Kirk was about 20 minutes into his speaking event when a single shot hit him in the neck, according to officials. FBI Director Kash Patel said agents were on the scene within 16 minutes.
