Authorities have apprehended a suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the conservative media figure who was killed while participating in a public event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The alleged assassin is Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old resident of Utah.

According to news reports, Robinson's family contacted law enforcement after recognizing the photo circulated by the FBI. Robinson then confessed to his father, a Utah sheriff, who detained Robinson until national law enforcement could arrive to arrest him. Interviews with Robinson's family and roommate have yielded additional confirmation that he is the shooter: He had recently told people that he thought Kirk was "hateful."

Given that Kirk was a high-profile conservative commentator, activist, and leader, many people have assumed that the killer's motive would eventually be revealed as anti-Republican animus—though it should be noted that similar assassinations have not always involved discernible left-right politics. For instance, the shooting of former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D–Ariz.) in 2011 was initially assumed to be politically motivated, and Republican campaign messaging—including specifically, from a political action committee that was connected to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin—received significant blame. It eventually became clear that the shooter, Jared Loughner, was psychotic, did not have a clear agenda, and had never seen the campaign materials in question. Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, does not fit neatly into a political box in terms of his ideology.

All that said, it's certainly possible that a more straightforward political motivation will emerge in this case. Speaking at a press conference Friday morning, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed that Robinson disliked Kirk's politics, and read off the messages inscribed into the shell casings of the gun used to assassinate him.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox says that suspected Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson hated Kirk because of his political views pic.twitter.com/l8VTVB4QSw

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 12, 2025

The inscribed phrases included: "Hey fascist! Catch!" and "Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao," an antifascist song. These are messages associated with antifa, an informal leftist movement whose participants often endorse violence against their perceived enemies on the right. The shell casings also included the messages: "If you can read this you are gay lmao" and "notices bulges," which are best described as catchphrases—the internet calls them "copypasta"—associated with online chat forums like Reddit, 4chan, and Tumblr. Use of such phrases suggests that the alleged killer was very, very online.

HIGH CONFIDENCE: Tyler Robinson used a 30-06 to murder Charlie Kirk. He was the sole shooter, but there remain open questions regarding who, if anyone, had advance knowledge of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in years.

Tyler Robinson was the shooter.

It's not hard for a determined white man in his 20's to kill me, you, or anyone else talking about this case. We've infantilized men to the point that it's shocking to those who have accepted the "woke" point of view of white men, namely that they are bumbling sitcom dads. In reality, men much younger than Tyler Robinson sailed the 7 seas as pirates and stormed the beaches at Normandy. During GWOT, you had 18 year olds at Ranger battalion doing direct action missions. If you can't believe a white man is capable of an assassination, then you're a leftist.

Tyler Robinson was able to get on the roof because America is an open, trusting society. People come and go as they please. No one is looked at suspiciously. This is especially true of Utah.

Drones were not used by Charlie's because there was a turf war between campus police and Charlie's security. I've spoken at events and had similar conflicts arise. It becomes an ego fest. I believe UVU campus security officials should be investigated for negligence.

Bullet pathways and ballistics are unpredictable on target. MLK JR was shot with a 30-06 and his face didn't blow off like in those YouTube videos of ham hocks.

The text messages Robinson sent to his trans lover are Reddit coded. Totally not surprising or "off." It's how they talk to each other. In the language of bad poetry.

The SD card was removed from a camera because media savvy staffers (it was their job to understand this stuff) who worked with Charlie would think to grab the footage.

The Charlie Kirk assassination is a state case, and prosecutors are notoriously anxious about evidence being released. They aren't going to try the case in the court of podcasts and social media. There are court rules against this. Judges blow a gasket.

I do think that it was a mistake for Kash and Boningo to refrain from using strategic leaks to debunk the nonsense around this case. They should have leaked a case file to some friendlies in media. A case of this level will be tried on social media, like it or not.

I would have managed the case much differently, if put in charge of comms. I'd have been leaking like a sieve.

But my read of the case, as well as my experience with the various people involved, leads me to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyler Robinson was the gunman.

I consider it an open question regarding whether he acted alone. Based on no direct evidence, only my judgment and experience investigating the FBI, I would suspect this was a Garland Texas situation. (If you don't know about that case, look it up. The FBI orchestrated the shooting, and one agent was busted texting the would-be mass shooter, "TEAR UP TEXAS.")

The FBI also had advance contact of the Pulse Nightclub shooter, and they did not arrest the shooter despite being informed that he had been making threats to commit a jihad.

The lack of transparency regarding Garland Texas and Pulse Nightclub means the burden of proof is on the FBI, not the public. If institutions want trust, then they must be trustworthy. Keeping the Garland Texas files under seal is indefensible and indicates that the FBI has much to hide.

I'll update this post as more information arises or if my conclusions change.