Authorities in Utah have identified Tyler James Robinson, 22, as the man accused of killing the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Robinson was arrested on Thursday after contacting a family friend, who then alerted the sheriff's office in Washington county, Utah, according to officials. The county is about 260 miles south of Orem, where Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University.
Utah's governor, Spencer Cox, said the family friend reported that Robinson had at least implied, and potentially confessed, to killing Kirk, a prominent ally of Donald Trump. Public records show Robinson's family lives in Washington, Utah, where Trump received 75% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election. His parents are registered Republicans and active voters, while Robinson himself registered as an inactive voter in July 2021 without declaring a party affiliation.
Robinson is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College, according to the Utah system of higher education. He briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021 as a pre-engineering major before taking a leave of absence. He had also earned concurrent enrollment credit through Utah Tech University while in high school from 2019 to 2021. A spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Robinson joined the congregation at a young age.
Governor Cox told reporters that a family member, interrogated by investigators, said Robinson had become more political in recent years. The family member recalled Robinson mentioning Kirk's scheduled speech and expressing dislike for Kirk and his views. CBS News reported that Robinson's father confronted him after recognising him in surveillance images, and urged him to surrender. Robinson reportedly said he would rather die by suicide, but his father enlisted the help of a youth pastor, and Robinson eventually turned himself in.
Investigators recovered unfired gun casings at the scene with inscriptions described by Cox as overt references to the anti-fascist movement. One reportedly read: “Hey fascist! Catch!” Another said “Oh, Bella ciao” – a reference to an Italian anti-fascist resistance song. A third reportedly read: “If you read this, you are gay, LMAO.” Other inscriptions were interpreted as references to gaming and online culture, including one that began with an up arrow and the word “right”.
A neighbour of the Robinson family, Kristin Schwiermann, said she had the impression Tyler was academically smart, citing high ACT scores. She said the news that Robinson was accused of murdering Kirk “shocked the crap out of me”. Records do not show any known prior arrest history for Robinson.
