Fbi Utah Officials Investigate Killing Of Conservative Activist

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 8:10 PM

fbi utah officials investigate killing of conservative activist

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks at a news conference on Sept. 12, 2025, in Orem, Utah, as Utah department of public safety commissioner Beau Mason, left, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox listen. Lindsay Wasson/AP hide caption Authorities have arrested a 22-year-old suspect in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials said Friday, bringing an end to a frantic manhunt for the gunman behind an assassination that deepened concerns about... "We got him," Utah Gov.

Spencer Cox said at a news conference early Friday. Cox identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson of Utah. Analysts and law enforcement authorities are still sifting through evidence and conducting interviews to learn as much as they can about Robinson's beliefs and what may have led him to allegedly kill Kirk. Among the items investigators are examining are bullet casings with messages inscribed on them, inscriptions that could be references to gaming and online culture. OREM — Conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck and killed Wednesday while speaking to students at Utah Valley University. "This is a dark day for our state; it's a tragic day for our nation.

I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination," Gov. Spencer Cox said Wednesday on the campus of UVU. About the same time as the press conference was starting in Orem, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X, "The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is... A second man was arrested right after the shooting for investigation of obstruction of justice and later released. The Utah Department of Public Safety issued a statement Wednesday night, clarifying the person of interest was "released after interrogation with law enforcement. There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.

There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter." Authorities have confirmed the arrest of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The announcement came with new details about Robinson's background, the timeline of his capture, and the digital and physical evidence that led investigators to him. Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, four of his books have climbed into Amazon's top 10 best-seller rankings, including one that has yet to be released. Preorders for Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life propelled the title to No. 2 on Friday.

The book is scheduled for publication in December. Also charting are Right Wing Revolution (2024), The College Scam (2022), and Time for a Turning Point (2021), reflecting renewed interest in Kirk's political and cultural commentary. The three most recent titles are published by Winning Team Publishing, a conservative imprint co-founded by President Trump. Following the arrest of Tyler James Robinson in connection with the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Utah higher education officials confirmed Robinson's academic background. He is currently a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College. Robinson previously attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021 and earned concurrent enrollment credit through Utah Tech University while in high school from 2019 to 2021.

In a public statement, the Utah System of Higher Education emphasized its commitment to fostering respectful dialogue and protecting free expression across its campuses. With over 225,000 students statewide, the system reaffirmed that intimidation or violence has no place in academic environments and pledged continued efforts to ensure safety and open discourse for students, faculty, and guests. Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested for the death of Charlie Kirk last week. The suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk had an "obsession" with the conservative influencer, based on the alleged shooter's digital footprint, FBI Co-Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Monday on Fox News. Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah native, is accused of fatally shooting Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

Bongino said the suspect appeared to have exhibited "multiple warning signs." "I believe co-workers stated he had detached himself when the topic of politics came up and walked away," Bongino said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." Hours after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel declared online that "the subject" in the killing was in custody. The shooter was not. The two men who had been detained were quickly released, and Utah officials acknowledged that the gunman remained at large. The false assurance was more than a slip.

It spotlighted the high-stakes uncertainty surrounding Patel's leadership of the bureau when its credibility — and his own — are under extraordinary pressure. Patel now approaches congressional oversight hearings this coming week facing not just questions about that investigation but broader doubts about whether he can stabilize a federal law enforcement agency fragmented by political fights and... Democrats are poised to press Patel on a purge of senior executives that has prompted a lawsuit, his pursuit of President Donald Trump's grievances long after the Russia investigation ended, and a realignment of... That's in addition to questions about the handling of files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, the addition of a co-deputy director to serve alongside Dan Bongino, and the use of polygraphs on... Republicans, meanwhile, are likely to rally to his defense or redirect the spotlight toward the bureau's critics. The man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk is now in custody.

The arrest came after an extensive search by law enforcement officials, with the FBI calling on the public for help, and it was information from the suspect’s own family members that ultimately led to... Stephanie Sy reports. Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. The man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk is now in custody. The arrest came after an extensive search.

The FBI had called on the public for help, posting surveillance photos and videos and issuing a $100,000 reward. As Stephanie Sy reports, it was information from the suspect's own family members that ultimately led to his arrest. • First hearing: Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk, appeared virtually for his first court hearing since he was formally charged on seven counts today. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty. • Text messages revealed: Charging documents show the suspect confessed in a series of messages sent to his roommate after the attack. Robinson’s mother said he had become more political and leaned left, “becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented.” Robinson “began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders,” his mother said, according...

• Congressional hearing: FBI Director Kash Patel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the probe into Kirk’s murder. He told lawmakers that the FBI is interviewing more than 20 people who participated in an online chat with Robinson. Our live coverage has ended. You can read more about the charges against the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing here and more about FBI Director Kash Patel’s Senate hearing here. While Tyler Robinson, the suspect charged in Charlie Kirk’s murder, was not physically in court for his first appearance today, two women who survived the shooting on Utah Valley University’s campus were there to... A manhunt is underway in Utah for the gunman who fatally shot Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist who was making an appearance on a college campus when he was...

The identity of the shooter and what motivated the gunman to carry out the assassination is still unknown. The FBI on Sept. 11 released surveillance images of a "person of interest," showing a person wearing a black shirt, jeans, a baseball cap and sunglasses. The bureau asked for the public's help in identifying the person captured on camera. At a news conference, officials said they recovered a bolt-action rifle used in the shooting and tracked the suspect's movements before and after the incident. The shooter remains at large and appears to be of "college age," said Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason.

"We are investing everything we have to this and we will catch this individual," Mason said. Kirk, 31, was among the country's most prominent youth political activists and was a close ally of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. He made a name for himself as a talented and sometime provocative orator, drawing large crowds at college campuses where he hosted "Prove Me Wrong" debates. Kirk played a key role in Trump's growing popularity among young conservative voters. Updated on: September 17, 2025 / 12:24 AM EDT / CBS News Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, on Tuesday was granted a pretrial protective order against the suspect in his murder, Tyler Robinson, that prohibits him from contacting or harassing her.

"The defendant represents a credible threat to the physical safety of the protected person," according to the filing granted by Judge Tony Graf. Furthermore, Jeffrey Neiman, a Miami-based attorney, filed a request on behalf of Erika Kirk that she be designated a representative of her late husband in the case. "It is requested that Erika Kirk, the widow of Charles James Kirk, be designated the representative of the victim in this case to exercise all the rights afforded the victim pursuant to Utah Code…,"...

Fbi Utah Officials Investigate Killing Of Conservative Activist

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