Who Is Tyler Robinson, the Charlie Kirk Murder Suspect?
Law-enforcement officials announced on Friday that they had arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the suspect accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. “We got him,” Utah governor Spencer Cox said in a press conference. CNN reported that Robinson’s father had identified him in photos released by the FBI and reached out to his son telling him to turn himself in. According to Cox, Robinson’s father also reached out to a family friend who then contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and said Robinson had “confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.”
Despite prior claims that investigators found ammunition engraved with “transgender and anti-fascist ideology,” authorities are still investigating a motive and haven’t shared anything about Robinson’s political beliefs. (An internal ATF report apparently included unverified information connecting arrows that appeared on the bullets to the transgender community.) Here’s what we do know about the suspect so far.
Tyler Robinson registered to vote with no political party.
According to officials, Robinson is a 22-year-old from Washington, Utah. He was not a student at Utah Valley University, where the shooting took place. NBC News reported that his most recent voter-registration date was July 31, 2021, with no political party declared. Speaking to the press, Cox said a family member told authorities that Robinson had become “more political in recent years.”
“The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10,” Cox said. “And in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”
Robinson’s roommate shared messages about retrieving a rifle.
Cox shared that authorities spoke to Robinson’s roommate, who showed them Discord messages from the suspect. “The content of these included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler, stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related 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. On Thursday, the FBI said a bolt-action rifle had been found in a wooded area.
Messages were found on what is believed to be the suspect’s unused ammunition.
Alongside the gun, authorities recovered unfired ammunition with engraved messages. According to Cox, one cartridge read, “Hey fascist! Catch!” Another carried the message “If you read this, you are gay LMAO.” A third message read, “Bella ciao,” a reference to an Italian song that came to be an anthem of anti-fascist resistance in the country during World War II.
Other inscriptions left on casings seem to be references to internet culture. Cox described one casing as having “up arrow, right arrow, and three down arrow symbols,” which the New York Times noted may be a reference to the controller moves used to release a bomb in the game Helldivers. A different engraving read, “Notices bulges OWO what’s this?” which is a trolling copypasta referencing furries and online role-players.
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