Utah Governor Spencer Cox released a trove of new information following the arrest of Charlie Kirk’s assassin, Tyler Robinson, on Thursday, September 11.
The press conference followed an appeal by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for information pertaining to a photo of the suspect.
The image filtered through to Robinson’s family, and the 22-year-old’s father encouraged him to turn himself in.
Highlights
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the alleged assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
- Robinson was identified after the FBI released surveillance images and a family friend tipped off law enforcement.
- Evidence included Discord messages, a rifle, and ammunition engraved with phrases mocking Kirk’s politics.
A tip from a Robinson family friend led to Tyler’s arrest
Image credits: Getty/The Salt Lake Tribune
Cox detailed at a conference on Friday, September 12, how law enforcement officials found their first actionable clue to the shooter’s identity on surveillance footage.
They then connected with Robinson’s family and were granted access to Discord channels where they found additional incriminating information.
“We got him,” Cox told the press on Friday, September 12, as he stood amidst other officials, including the FBI’s head honcho, Kash Patel.
He explained that the arrest was made after the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from a friend of Robinson’s family.
Tyler Robinson had spoken about Charlie Kirk on the eve of his arrival
The leaker told the law enforcement service that Robinson had either admitted or implied that he took Kirk’s life.
Police then interviewed a family member and heard that Robinson had become increasingly political in the past few years.
Image credits: Facebook/Charlie Kirk
During the interview, officials learned that Robinson had spoken about the late political activist on the eve of his (Kirk’s) visit.
“The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10,” Cox told his charges.
One casing had the words “Hey fascists! Catch!”
“And in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU (Utah Valley University).”
Image credits: X/GovCox
Robinson and the unknown family member allegedly chatted about “why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints he had.”
The police probe then led them to a roommate of the shooter who divulged messages, supposedly from Robinson, about needing “to retrieve a rifle from a drop point” then “leaving the rifle in a bush.”
As a nod to an earlier report by Bored Panda, communications surrendered by the roommate details engraved bullets.
Image credits: Utah County Sheriff's Office
It has also since been divulged that the rifle had a scope and said ammunition was inscribed with “Hey fascists! Catch!” and “If you read this, you are gay LMAO.”
Contrary to earlier reports, there were no inscriptions pertaining to transgenderism.
The shooter arrived at the facility in a Dodge Challenger at 8.29 a.m.
Despite later questions about the shooter communicating he had changed clothes, Cox also let on that when investigators confronted Robinson, he was dressed the same as he was on the day he took Kirk’s life.
On said day (September 10), police pinpointed his arrival using CCTV footage, which showed him entering the Utah Valley University grounds at around 08h29 in a Dodge Challenger.
“[Robinson] was observed in consistent clothing with those surveillance images,” the Utah governor told his audience.
The Utah Governor called the shooting “an attack” on everyone
NBC, having performed a search of national and state databases, found no criminal records and evidence that he had last voted in 2021.
Image credits: Facebook/Amber Jones Robinson
“I think it’s important that we, with eyes wide open, understand what's happening in our country today,” Cox continued, before declaring:
“It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals. This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, who we have been, and who we could be.”
Governor Spencer Cox thanked the family for turning Robinson in
Image credits: Facebook/Amber Jones Robinson
In closing, Cox thanked law enforcement and the public and expressed gratitude to Robinson for “doing the right thing.”
Citing a police affidavit, NBC news reported that the 22-year-old is expected to be charged with “aggravated [slaying], felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice.”
The attack follows months after Minnesota-based Senator Hoffman and his wife were fatally shot
Image credits: Facebook/Amber Jones Robinson
The slaying of Charlie Kirk comes months after Vance Luther Boelter impersonated a cop before taking the lives of Minnesota’s Senator Hoffman and his wife.
A June 16 report by the Department of Justice claimed that Boetler had “put into effect a calculated plan to inflict fear and violence upon Minnesota elected officials and their families.”
Politico, picking up on the trend too, headlined, “A new dark normal of political violence still shocks the nation.”
“Both parties have been targeted, and both parties share a moral and patriotic duty to take meaningful action to stop gun crime from claiming more lives,” former Democratic Representative Gabby Giffords (who survived a bullet to the head in 2011), said, mirroring the outlet’s sentiments.
Authorities originally posted a $100k reward leading to the capture of the shooter, and netizens want to know if the family member who turned him in gets the money
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