During a family dinner, Tyler Robinson, who is accused of killing Charlie Kirk, made disturbing comments about the conservative figure. This conversation happened shortly before the tragedy.
Robinson, aged 22, mentioned Kirk’s upcoming appearance at Utah Valley University on September 10, and expressed his strong dislike for the 31-year-old supporter of MAGA to his family members.
‘They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,’ Utah Governor Spencer Cox revealed in a press conference this morning.
The family members also told police Robinson had described Kirk as ‘full of hate and spreading hate’.
His remarks were concerning enough that his family felt compelled to report the conversation to the authorities once Robinson was detained for Kirk’s murder.
It was his father who ultimately turned his son into law enforcement.
Sources told the Daily Mail that Robinson confessed to his father, Matt Robinson, who owns and operates a construction company.
Matt had recognized his son in photos shared by the FBI and confronted him about the shooting.
Tyler Robinson seen in his mugshot following his arrest over the shooting of Charlie Kirk
Robinson, 22, accused of killing Charlie Kirk, pictured with his parents Matt and Amber and two younger brothers in a family photo shared online
When Robinson confessed, his dad urged him to turn himself in.
Reportedly, Robinson told his father he would prefer to end his own life rather than surrender, but he agreed to talk to a local youth minister, who is also affiliated with the US Marshals Service.
A family member of Robinson contacted a mutual friend, who then informed the Washington County Sheriff’s Office that Robinson had confessed or alluded to committing the crime, as per Cox’s statement on Friday.
He was taken into custody Thursday night.
Robinson’s family members told police the 22-year-old had become ‘more political in recent years’, Cox said.
They also confirmed Robinson had a grey Dodge Challenger – matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle.
Robinson’s roommate also directed officers to the suspect’s Discord platform.
The roommate said Robinson had messaged him asking to retrieve his rifle, wrapped in a towel in some bushes, Cox said.
Robinson currently faces several charges, including aggravated murder, unlawfully discharging a firearm that resulted in serious injury, and obstructing justice, according to the probable cause documents.
Kirk, 31, was assassinated Wednesday while speaking at a Turning Point USA rally at Utah Valley University in Orem
Cox said prosecutors will pursue the death penalty if he is convicted.
The motive for the assassination remains unclear.
However, unspent rounds found with the apparent murder weapon had been engraved with bizarre messages including: ‘Hey Fascist! Catch!’, ‘If you read this you are Gay, LMAO’ and ‘Oh Bella ciao Bella ciao Bella ciao’.
Robinson does not have a recorded political affiliation and did not vote in the last two elections, voting records show.
His parents, Matt and Amber Robinson, are both registered Republicans.
Amber works for Intermountain Support Coordination Services, a state-contracted disability provider, while Matt works in construction.
At the time of the shooting, Robinson was in his third year on the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in St. George, the Utah System of Higher Education confirmed.
He had briefly attended Utah State University on a $32,000 presidential scholarship in 2021 but dropped out after just one semester.
Social media posts show the family vacationing together and posing for smiling selfies.
In one childhood photo, Robinson is seen handling a massive M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun; in another from Halloween 2017, he dressed as Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Robinson allegedly drove his gray Dodge Challenger to the Orem campus, scaled the Losee Center building, and fired a single bullet from a rooftop sniper’s nest roughly 200 yards away.
Kirk was hit by a single bullet while answering a question about mass shootings.
The father-of-two, known for his fierce MAGA views and thrilling debates with college students across the country, collapsed immediately after being struck.
Chaos unfolded across the UVU campus, with students running for safety.
Witness Sophie Anderson, 45, told the Daily Mail she nearly got trampled as she fled into a food court and hid in a closet.
‘The second it happened, I knew it was a gunshot,’ she said. ‘He was shot in the neck and just fell over and he was just a fountain of blood. All these kids are just falling apart and bawling.’
Kirk was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries.
President Trump led tributes to Kirk, writing on Truth Social: ‘The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!’
Trump ordered all flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Utah to join Kirk’s family, later helping carry his casket aboard Air Force Two back to Arizona.
Robinson was seen wearing shoes that appeared to match those worn by the suspect in images released by investigators during the manhunt
The alleged killer confessed to his father after he was confronted, and initially told him he would rather kill himself than turn himself in
The manhunt to catch the assassin dragged on for 33 hours, with multiple suspects incorrectly apprehended.
Authorities initially detained elderly political agitator George Zinn on the scene, but he wasn’t the shooter.
On Wednesday evening, Govenor Cox even announced a ‘person of interest’ was in custody.
But FBI Director Kash Patel later admitted the gunman was still at large. ‘The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,’ Patel said.
‘Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in the interest of transparency.’
Authorities recovered the high-powered bolt-action rifle in woods near the campus.
In one image from Robinson’s mother’s social media from 2017, he was seen wearing a Donald Trump costume to Halloween
His mother, Amber Robinson, works for Intermountain Support Coordination Services, a company contracted by the state of Utah to help disabled people receive care
The family’s social media profiles show Robinson often enjoying family vacations and sharing smiling selfies
Kirk, who once made Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, was the youngest speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention and opened the 2020 RNC.
He co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 as a teenager, building it into a conservative powerhouse with over a thousand staffers nationwide.
Known for his ‘prove me wrong’ debates on college campuses, Kirk racked up billions of views online and became a champion for ‘populist nationalist’ politics.
He also launched Turning Point Academy and Turning Point Faith, aiming to spread pro-American and biblical values across schools and churches.
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, their three-year-old daughter, and 16-month-old son. The couple had celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.
The brazen assassination comes amid a surge in political violence across the US, including the shooting of Trump at a campaign rally last year, and has been described by Cox as a ‘watershed moment’ in American history.
What kind of watershed, he said, ‘remains the question’.
