Donald Trump said on Friday he hoped Charlie Kirk’s killer would be executed as a two-day manhunt across the United States for the assassin came to an end.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was unmasked as the suspect after he was turned in by his father, Matt, who recognised him from images released by the FBI.
Mr Robinson then extracted a confession from his son, law enforcement sources said.
Mr Robinson contacted a clergyman friend who informed the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, and his son was arrested by US Marshals at 10pm local time.
Mr Trump revealed news of the arrest during a live appearance on breakfast TV, telling Fox News: ‘The father said, “we’ve got to go in.” He’s going to be found guilty I imagine. And I hope he gets the death penalty.
‘Charlie Kirk was the finest person. He didn’t deserve this. He worked so hard, and so well. Everybody liked him.’
Robinson is due to be charged with aggravated murder, obstruction of justice (capital/first-degree felony conduct) and felony discharge of firearm (causing serious bodily injury), according to CBS.
Mr Kirk, 31, a father of two, was shot dead by a gunman who used a hunting rifle to fire a single shot across the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was unmasked as the suspect after he was turned in by his father, Matt, who recognised him from images released by the FBI
Mr Robinson contacted a clergyman friend who informed the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, and his son was arrested by US Marshals at 10pm local time
Donald Trump said on Friday he hoped Charlie Kirk’s killer would be executed as a two-day manhunt across the United States for the assassin came to an end
Mr Kirk, 31, a father of two, was shot dead by a gunman who used a hunting rifle to fire a single shot across the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
The MAGA cheerleader was starting a tour of universities to spread his conservative ideals through a no-nonsense debating style that brought him tens of millions of online followers and into the president’s sphere.
A firm motive is yet to be established, but Robinson’s family told police the suspect had become ‘more political’ in recent years. Engravings on one bullet found by the dumped rifle referred to the anti-fascist movement Antifa.
The gunman had engraved a message on a bullet casing reading, ‘Hey, fascist, catch!’, the FBI said. Another casing was inscribed with lyrics from the song ‘Bella Ciao,’ which honours Second World War Italian partisans.
And on a third unfired bullet were the words: ‘If you read this, you are gay LMAO.’
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Robinson, an electrical apprentice, had spoken to a relative about his dislike for Mr Kirk, accusing him of ‘spreading hate’ and making a reference to the activist’s visit to the university.
Last night, his grandmother, Debbie Robinson told the Daily Mail that he had grown up in a Republican family that had backed Mr Trump’s presidency.
The 69-year-old said her grandson was a quiet young man who never discussed politics with her.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated Wednesday on the UVU campus in Utah as he held a Turning Point USA event
Tyler Robinson, 22, was named on Friday as the alleged killer who shot Charlie Kirk. He had a childhood obsession with guns and was seen posing with an M2 Browning 50. calibre machine gun in social media pictures
Officials released images of the 22-year-old, seen wearing a black T-shirt with a bald eagle flying across an American flag
Despite many family photos showing him growing up around firearms, she said: ‘I’m just so confused. He doesn’t hunt, he’s never liked anything like that. There’s just no way he could have been that good of a shot.
‘He’s a wonderful child. There is no way that he could have done anything like that.’
Public safety commissioner Beau Mason said Robinson had been ‘very compliant’ with officers when he was detained at his home in Washington, southern Utah, about three hours’ drive from the scene of the shooting.
‘When our investigators got down there, they were able to peacefully make contact with him and move through that process of making the arrest,’ he added.
Robinson arrived at Utah Valley University in his grey Dodge Challenger at 8.29am local time on Wednesday, CCTV footage shows.
The shooter was said to have climbed on to the roof of the nearby Losee Center, before changing his clothes.
At 12.23pm, Mr Kirk was shot in the neck while engaging in one of his signature ‘prove me wrong’ debates in the university’s courtyard in front of at least 3,000 people. He was confirmed dead two hours later. Footage emerged in the early hours on Friday of the gunman sprinting across the Losee building roof before jumping to the ground and running across the lawn beside a car park.
A bolt action Mauser .30-06 rifle with a mounted scope was found in the woods wrapped in a dark towel with the engraved bullet casings. After the killing, the gunman changed back into the same outfit he was wearing when he arrived on campus, officials told a press conference.
Mr Cox began an extraordinary Press conference on Friday with the words: ‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen. We got him.’
The governor said investigators had interviewed Robinson’s former flatmate, who showed detectives messages posted on the social media app Discord under the name ‘Tyler’, which discussed retrieving a rifle from a drop point before leaving it in a bush, and said ‘Tyler’ was watching the area where the Mauser was eventually found wrapped in a towel.
Mr Kirk, 31, a father of two, was a close ally of Donald Trump and was seen as the voice of the country’s conservative youth
Two people were arrested on Tuesday amid chaotic scenes following Kirk’s assassination, but both were later released as they were found not to be the killer
The same messages also mentioned engraving bullets and a rifle scope, as well as changing outfits during the operation. Discord disputed some of the information shared by the FBI and Utah officials, saying such messages were not sent on its app.
During the hunt for America’s most wanted man, the FBI released grainy CCTV of the suspect in a stairwell wearing a baseball cap, dark sunglasses and a black jumper bearing an American flag with the words ‘Land of the Free…. Home of the Brave’.
When police interviewed him, Robinson was wearing the same clothing, Mr Cox said.
Mr Cox, also a Republican, has said authorities would pursue the death penalty for the culprit.
Utah is one of 27 US states where capital punishment is legal, and one of five in which a criminal can be executed by firing squad as well as lethal injection.
FBI director Kash Patel said Robinson had been on the run for 33 hours before he was detained, adding: ‘In 33 hours, we have made historic progress for Charlie.
‘To my friend Charlie Kirk, rest now brother, we have the watch, and I’ll see you in Valhalla.’
Mr Cox likened the shooting to America’s political assassinations of the 1960s and said Mr Kirk’s death would mark a watershed moment in the country’s history.
Robinson’s arrest comes after a manhunt for the suspect stretched to over a day and a half
‘The question is, what kind of watershed, and that chapter remains to be written,’ he added.
‘Is this the end of a dark chapter in our history or the beginning of a darker chapter in our history?’
Mr Cox’s attempts to lower the temperature in the wake of the shooting came after Mr Trump had called for Robinson to face trial ‘the following day’, saying: ‘In China they do have quick trials. They don’t wait six years.’
Mr Kirk is thought to have helped Mr Trump win two presidential elections. He often courted controversy, claiming women should only go to college to find a husband and saying he would question the qualifications of a black pilot.
He was also a staunch supporter of gun rights. Mr Trump has said he planned to attend Mr Kirk’s funeral next week.
