Kirk Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty

Authorities identified Tyler Robinson as Charlie Kirk‘s alleged assassin and charged him with murder, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. his arrest Thursday evening after a 33-hour manhunt.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We got him,” Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) said Friday morning following a 33-hour manhunt. Robinson was arrested at 10 p.m. local time.

The charges, announced Friday afternoon, include aggravated murder, felony discharge of a weapon causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice, according to the Associated Press. Official release of the charges is expected next week.

Robinson did not have a criminal history.

Cox said a family member told law enforcement that Robinson either confessed or implied that he assassinated Kirk.

Authorities said Robinson had become increasingly political in recent months. At one point, he argued with family members about Kirk at the dinner table, saying he was “full of hate and spreading hate.” Robinson also mentioned Kirk was coming to Utah Valley University and objected to his presence on campus.

Cox confirmed that Robinson engraved the bullet casings with antifascist messages, including “Hey fascist! Catch!” and “Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao,” the lyrics of a famous Italian antifascist song. Cox also described what appeared to be the three-arrow symbol, an antifascist sign made famous during street fights in Weimar Germany.

The fired casings also referenced a nearly decade-old sexual meme, saying, “Notices bulge, OWO, what’s this?” The last case was an example of similar trolling: “If you read this, you are gay LMAO.”

Authorities confirmed that Robinson’s roommate also assisted law enforcement by showing investigators Discord messages that included him and Robinson. These messages outlined what he did with the rifle used to murder Kirk.

The messages discussed “stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to a to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel,” Cox said.

Cox said authorities don’t have “any information that would lead to any additional arrests,” but the investigation is ongoing.

Robinson was not a student at UVU. Cox also said he gave no indication of having a mental illness.

Robinson was booked at the Utah County Jail. He was a longtime resident of Washington County, Utah, roughly 250 miles away from the UVU campus.

FBI Director Kash Patel praised the public’s assistance in narrowing the search. There were 7,000 leads sent to law enforcement Thursday evening. After they released additional footage of the suspect, 4,000 more leads were sent in.

Cox said he “absolutely” believes the assassination is a “watershed” moment in American history, drawing parallels with the political violence of the late 1960s.

“The question is, what kind of watershed and that that chapter remains to be written. Is this the end of a dark chapter in our history or the beginning of a darker chapter in our history?” he asked.

Kirk, the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck and killed while speaking at an event at UVU. Authorities said Robinson allegedly sniped Kirk from a position on top of the Sorensen Student Center, several hundred feet away from him, and then made a hasty retreat into a nearby neighborhood.

On Thursday, police recovered the murder weapon: a high-powered, bolt-action rifle. The weapon was left in a wooded area, which has since been swept and secured. Authorities had another breakthrough the same day when they obtained photo and video footage of the alleged shooter. They released it to the public for help in the case.

President Donald Trump broke the news of the shooter’s arrest in an appearance on Fox News on Friday morning.

“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody. Everyone did a great job,” Trump said.

The FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety co-led the manhunt “in unison with the Utah County Attorney’s Office, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, and the local police departments,” according to a statement from the Utah DPS.

The assassination is one of the most high-profile political killings in modern U.S. history. The shooting and subsequent fallout have drawn international attention and condemnation from leaders around the world. The incident has also sparked comments from nearly all Democratic and Republican lawmakers, though some Democrats focused on openly bashing Kirk or Trump’s rhetoric in the aftermath.