The man who allegedly shot Charlie Kirk was neither Republican or Democrat, his voting records reveal. The 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson is listed as “unaffiliated” in Utah voting records. Robinson previously expressed signs of dislikes for Charlie Kirk at a family dinner, claiming Charlie was “full of hate”.
The FBI revealed at a news conference Friday morning Robinson had become radicalised. One of the inscriptions on the bullet casings read “Bella ciao”, a reference to the Italian resistance against Nazi fascists. Another casing read, “Hey fascist, catch”. Robinson’s mother shared a photo from a 2017 Halloween outing showing Robinson in a costume mimicking him sitting on the shoulders of Donald Trump, standing beside someone holding a toy rifle. The mum also shared a video of her son reading a letter, announcing that he had been awarded a $32,000 national scholarship to Utah State University.
At a Thursday night news conference, the FBI and Utah Governor Spencer Cox urged the public to come forward with any leads, releasing surveillance photos from the school where Kirk was shot. Earlier today, Donald Trump suggested that the suspect’s father had helped turn him in. Robinson was wearing a distinctive sweatshirt and his facial features were clear enough that his dad recognised he was the man on the roof when the single shot rang out.
When authorities arrested Robinson at his father’s home, he was wearing clothing that matched what the person of interest was seen wearing in the campus surveillance footage prior to the shooting.
Robinson was reportedly partly tipped off by a youth pastor. According to sources, he allegedly confessed the murder to his father, who encouraged him to surrender. Initially, Tyler refused, but later agreed. His father then reached out to the youth pastor for help, who subsequently contacted federal authorities.
Robinson was born in Utah in 2003, NBC News reported citing five senior law enforcement officials familiar with the case. Robinson’s family told investigators that he had become “more political in recent years”, and the suspect mentioned that Kirk was visiting Utah Valley University.