Utah Governor Spencer Cox, during this morning’s presser announced the arrest of Tyler Robinson, 22, of Washington County, Utah, in connection with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Robinson, an engineering student at Utah State University for one semester in 2021, was turned into law enforcement by his father in the early morning of September 12. Tyler Robinson is currently in Utah County Jail.
“We got him,” Gov. Cox said. “On the evening of September 11th, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.”
“In less than 36 hours, 33 to be precise, thanks to the full weight of the federal government and leading out with the partners here in the state of Utah and Governor Cox, the suspect was apprehended in a historic time period,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “And I want to highlight what Governor Cox said. This would not have been possible without you, the media, and you, the public. That’s why we went so public so fast and we’re so transparent and we’re committed to that transparency.”
Director Patel shared that the there are now over 11,000 leads into the FBI which his agency will be “running out every single lead that we can. Every one of those leads will be run out.” The FBI Salt Lake Field Office, along with offices in LA, Phoenix, Denver, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, the headquarters component in Quantico, all participated in the investigation along with authorities in Utah.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we HAVE HIM, in custody. Everyone did a great job,” President Donald J Trump said earlier today on Fox & Friends prior to Friday’s FBI presser.
Robinson arrived at Utah Valley University in a gray Dodge Challenger at approximately 8:29 a.m. on September 10. Surveillance video showed that Robinson was wearing a plain maroon T-shirt, light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo, and light-colored shoes. He then later changed his clothing, according to Governor Cox, at the rooftop then at some point changed back into that clothing by the time he was arrested. The clothing Robinson was wearing at the time of his arrest matched the clothing he had on before the shooting here at UVU, Gov. Cox said.
When encountered in person by investigators in Washington County on September 12th, in the early morning hours, Robinson was observed in consistent clothing with those surveillance images.
A family member told law enforcement that Robinson had become “more political in recent years” and over dinner prior to September 10, mentioned that “Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU.” During that dinner, Robinson shared how he felt Kirk was “full of hate and spreading hate.”
Robinson’s roommate provided law enforcement messages allegedly involving Robinson stating he needs to “retrieve a rifle from a drop point,” having left a rifle in a bush wrapped in a towel. Messages also referred to engravings on bullets and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique. Robinson also mentioned changing outfits.
The information in all the Discord messages from Tyler Robinson to his roommate is consistent with evidence obtained by law enforcement. The rifle believed to have been used in the assassination of Kirk, was found in a grassy area with trees on the edge of the UVU campus. It was a Mauser Model 98 .36 caliber bolt-action rifle, Governor Cox said, with a scope mounted on top of it.
The markings and writing on the fired casting read:
- “Notices, Bulges, OWO, What’s This?” (The combination references a meme associated with animated videos, furry culture, and video game streamers.)
The markings and writing on the unfired cartridge casings, left in the rifle read:
- “Hey Fascist! Catch! Up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol and three down arrow symbols.” (This is an ANTIFA related symbolism and messaging. The three-arrow symbol is tied to anti-fascism movements of WW2)
- “Oh Bella Chow, Bella Chow, Bella Chow, Chow Chow.” (This is an ANTIFA related symbolism and messaging. It refers to an Italian song dedicated to the Italian resistance and anti-fascist forces in WW2).
- “If you read this, you are gay, LMAO.”
When asked for a possible motive to the murder of Kirk, Gov. Cox responded, “I can’t answer that right now.” NBC News reported that Robinson’s last voter registration date was on July 13, 2021, and his political party is not declared based on public records.
“Political violence is different than any other type of violence for lots of different reasons,” Gov. Cox said. “One, because in the very act that Charlie championed of expression, that freedom of expression that is enshrined in our founding documents, in having his life taken in that very act makes it more difficult for people to feel like they can share their ideas, that they can speak freely. We will never be able to solve all the other problems, including the violence problems that people are worried about, if we can’t have a clash of ideas safely and securely. Even, especially those ideas with which you disagree. That’s why this matters so much.”
Gov. Cox likened the assassination of Kirk to the very public assassination of President John F Kennedy Jr.
“Is this the end of a dark chapter in our history or the beginning of a darker chapter in our history,” he said. “Do we escalate or do we find an off-ramp? And again, it’s a choice. It’s a choice. And every one of us gets to make that choice.”
Gov. Cox spoke directly into the camera with a message for young people, especially the millions of young men who follow Kirk, for them to create a new world and a new culture that transcends political violence and radicalism.
“You are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage. It feels like rage is the only option,” Gov. Cox said. But through those words, we have a reminder that we can choose a different path. Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now. Not by pretending differences don’t matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations. I think we need more moral clarity right now. I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence. Violence is violence. And there is one person responsible for what happened here. And that person is now in custody and he will be charged soon and will be held accountable. And yet all of us have an opportunity right now to do something different.”
Prior to the arrest of Robinson, Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, announced that he will contribute $1 million to the FBI’s $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Charlie Kirk’s assassin. Political consultant Alex Bruesewitz and conservative social media activist Robby Starbuck have each pledged $25,000, bringing the total reward amount to $1.15 million.
Author: Mario Lotmore
