Reuters

PROVO: The suspect accused of assassinating right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah wrote a text message before the shooting that he planned to kill Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday.&nbsp;In an appearance on Fox News&#39; &quot;Fox &amp; Friends,&quot; Patel said investigators believe Tyler Robinson also wrote a physical note saying he had the &quot;opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk&quot; and would do so. The note was destroyed, Patel said, but investigators have collected forensic evidence that it had existed and confirmed its contents through interviews.&nbsp;Patel did not say who had received the text message or whether anyone had seen the written note before the attack.&nbsp;Investigators have not publicly identified a motive. Law enforcement authorities have said they believe Robinson acted alone when he shot Kirk, but are investigating whether anyone else had a role in plotting the killing.&nbsp;Separately, the Washington Post reported on Monday that Robinson had sent a message via the online platform Discord to friends, apparently confessing to the crime on Thursday night, shortly before he was arrested.&nbsp;&quot;It was me at UVU yesterday. I&#39;m sorry for all of this,&quot; read a message from the account belonging to Robinson, the newspaper reported, citing two people familiar with the chat as well as screenshots it had obtained. Kirk, an influential ally of U.S. President Donald Trump who co-founded the leading conservative student group Turning Point USA, was killed by a single rifle shot last Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles south (65 km) of Salt Lake City.&nbsp;Court hearing by videoRobinson, 22, is expected to be formally charged on Tuesday, around the same time that he makes an initial court appearance by video from his jail cell.&nbsp;Patel told Fox News that DNA matching the suspect&#39;s was found on a towel that was wrapped around the rifle believed to be the murder weapon and on a screwdriver found on the rooftop that served as the shooter&#39;s sniper perch.&nbsp;Robinson has not cooperated with authorities, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said on Sunday. Still, investigators have been interviewing his friends and family in an effort to determine the motive for the shooting.&nbsp;The killing has shaken a country already gripped by a spike in political violence, fueled by deepening polarization between the right and the left.&nbsp;Both sides have universally condemned Kirk&#39;s slaying as an indefensible act of political violence, though partisan differences have emerged over the framing of that message.&nbsp;Some Republicans, including Trump, have blamed liberal groups for Kirk&#39;s murder despite a lack of evidence. At the same time, Democrats have noted that left-wing figures have also been the targets of political violence in recent years.&nbsp;The left and right also disagree over Kirk&#39;s legacy and how he should be remembered.&nbsp;Legacy dividedKirk&#39;s supporters cast him as an influential and charismatic figure who galvanized support for Trump among younger voters in 2024, and the Republican president has honored Kirk by ordering flags flown at half-staff on public buildings.&nbsp;Civil rights advocates and liberals have criticized Kirk as a divisive figure who embraced Trump&#39;s unsubstantiated claims of a stolen election in 2020 and has marginalized Blacks, women, the LGBT community, Muslims, and immigrants with derogatory rhetoric.&nbsp;In an appearance on Kirk&#39;s eponymous podcast on Monday, Vice President JD Vance said the &quot;incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism&quot; had helped lead to Kirk&#39;s killing.&nbsp;While Robinson was raised in a Mormon household by religious parents in a deeply conservative region of the state, &quot;his ideology was very different than his family,&quot; Cox said on Sunday on NBC&#39;s &quot;Meet the Press&quot; program, without going into specifics.&nbsp;State records show Robinson had registered to vote without choosing a party affiliation and did not vote in the 2024 presidential election. However, a relative told police that Robinson had become more politically active and had expressed a dislike for Kirk in a recent conversation.&nbsp;House Speaker Mike Johnson and three other top members of the House Republican leadership held a brief vigil on Monday for Kirk, attended by dozens of lawmakers, friends, and supporters in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol.&nbsp;Back in Utah, at the scene of Kirk&#39;s assassination, scores of mourners have flocked to makeshift memorials in recent days to leave flowers and handwritten notes, and to inscribe messages in chalk on campus sidewalks, many of them Bible verses.&nbsp;Dally Bronson, 22, a sheriff&#39;s dispatcher from neighboring Wasatch County who was on duty at the time Kirk was shot, said that as a devout Christian, she felt torn about what justice should look like.&nbsp;Describing herself as an admirer of Kirk, Bronson said she had been praying for both him and his accused killer.&nbsp;&quot;By all accounts, (Robinson) was a good kid until recently, when something went terribly wrong,&quot; she said, speaking through tears. Kirk&#39;s &quot;killing isn&#39;t about one political side or the other - it&#39;s about good and evil. The shooter encountered a darkness online; he went into some black hole on the internet, and it&#39;s something people our age fall into.&quot;

Americas

Suspect Tyler Robinson planned and confessed to killing activist Charlie Kirk; FBI cites evidence and messages, motive still under investigation.

Suspected gunman threatened Kirk, tied to scene by DNA: FBI

OREM: The Utah trade school student jailed on suspicion of fatally shooting United States conservative activist Charlie Kirk faces formal charges next week, according to the state governor.&nbsp;The act of violence is widely seen as a foreboding inflexion point in American politics.&nbsp;Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested on Thursday night after relatives and a family friend alerted authorities that he had implicated himself in the crime, Governor Spencer Cox said on Friday, opening a press conference with the words, &ldquo;We got him.&rdquo;&nbsp;The arrest capped a 33-hour manhunt for the lone suspect in Wednesday&rsquo;s killing, which U.S. President Donald Trump has called a &ldquo;heinous assassination.&rdquo;&nbsp;Kirk gunned downKirk, co-founder of the conservative student group Turning Point USA and a staunch Trump ally, was gunned down by a single rifle shot fired from a rooftop during an outdoor event attended by 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 65 kilometers south of Salt Lake City.&nbsp;The sniper made his getaway in the ensuing pandemonium, captured in graphic detail in video clips that circulated widely on the internet and television news reports.&nbsp;A bolt-action rifle believed to be the murder weapon was found nearby, and police released images from surveillance cameras showing a &ldquo;person of interest&rdquo; wearing dark clothing and sunglasses.&nbsp;A break in the case came when a relative and a family friend alerted the local sheriff&rsquo;s office that he had &ldquo;confessed to them or implied that he had committed&rdquo; the murder, Cox said.&nbsp;&ldquo;I want to thank the family members of Tyler Robinson, who did the right thing in this case and were able to bring him into law enforcement,&rdquo; the governor said.&nbsp;Security camera footage and evidence gathered from the suspect&rsquo;s profile on the chat and streaming platform Discord also helped investigators link him to the crime, Cox added.&nbsp;&lsquo;Watershed in American history&rsquo;The killing has stirred outrage among Kirk&rsquo;s supporters and condemnation of political violence from across the ideological spectrum.&nbsp;&ldquo;It is an attack on all of us,&rdquo; Governor Cox said, calling Kirk&rsquo;s murder a &ldquo;watershed in American history&rdquo; and comparing it to the rash of US political assassinations of the 1960s.&nbsp;Cox declined to discuss possible motives for the killing. But in describing inscriptions investigators found on ammunition recovered from the scene, he said one of the casings bore the message: &ldquo;Here fascist! Catch!&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;I think that speaks for itself,&rdquo; he said in response to reporters&rsquo; questions. Right, left or crazy?Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the symbology found on the bullet casings suggests the shooter was part of the so-called Groyper movement, associated with far-right activist and commentator Nick Fuentes.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an eclectic ideological movement marked by video game memes, anti-gay, Nick Fuentes white supremacy and irony,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;&ldquo;It certainly leans right, but it is quite eclectic. In a way, the ideological beliefs of the shooter don&rsquo;t matter,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;&ldquo;What matters is how they&rsquo;re taken by society. And if our society chooses to keep pointing fingers, whether the person turns out to be right, left or just unstable, then the violence will grow from the pointing of fingers, regardless of the act itself.&rdquo;&nbsp;Kleinfeld said most perpetrators of political violence were not clearly on one ideological side or another but typically driven by &ldquo;a hodgepodge of conspiracy beliefs and mental illness.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;So, it wouldn&rsquo;t be surprising at all if this person were a person of the far right, if this person was a person who held a variety of different beliefs and was sort of unclassifiable,&rdquo; she added.

The Utah trade school student jailed on suspicion of fatally shooting United States conservative activist Charlie Kirk faces formal charges next week, according to the state governor.

Accused US sniper jailed in Charlie Kirk killing awaits formal charges

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prominent U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday during a campus event at Utah Valley University. &quot;The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,&rdquo; Trump wrote on social media.&nbsp; A spokesperson for Utah Valley University said police do not currently have a suspect in custody. Earlier reports had indicated someone had been detained, but officials later clarified no arrests had been made. &lsquo;Martyr of truth&rsquo;: Trump condemns Kirk&#39;s assassinationIn a separate video message, Trump said he was &ldquo;filled with grief and anger&rdquo; after the &ldquo;heinous assassination&rdquo; of right-wing influencer, calling it a &ldquo;dark moment for America.&rdquo;&nbsp;He said Charlie was an inspiration for millions, and those who loved him are united in shock and horror.&nbsp;&ldquo;He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people. He&#39;s a martyr for truth and freedom. And there&#39;s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.<img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/76b10215-addd-44de-b2bf-39ffd74903a7.jpeg" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Knowledge; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted">A screengrab from a social media video shows U.S. right-wing activist, commentator,<span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-gradient-from-position: ; --tw-gradient-via-position: ; --tw-gradient-to-position: ; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; --tw-contain-size: ; --tw-contain-layout: ; --tw-contain-paint: ; --tw-contain-style: ; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant-emoji: inherit; font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Knowledge; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 170); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> Charlie <span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-gradient-from-position: ; --tw-gradient-via-position: ; --tw-gradient-to-position: ; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; --tw-contain-size: ; --tw-contain-layout: ; --tw-contain-paint: ; --tw-contain-style: ; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant-emoji: inherit; font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Knowledge; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 170); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Kirk<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Knowledge; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump speaking during an event at Utah Valley University, moments before being fatally shot, in Orem, Utah, U.S., September 10, 2025. Kevin/via REUTERS The US president said violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible&nbsp;He called on the Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died.&nbsp;&ldquo;An assassin tried to silence him with a bullet, but he failed. Because together we will ensure that his voice, his message, and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come,&rdquo; he added. Shot from a building rooftopMultiple sources said the fatal shot was fired from an academic building approximately 100&ndash;200 yards away. According to BBC, Kirk&rsquo;s wife and two young children were present on campus at the time. A source told CBS that the shooter appeared to have fired from the roof of the university&#39;s Losee Center. Cellphone footage circulating online shows Kirk, 31, addressing a large outdoor crowd at the university&#39;s Orem campus when a single gunshot rang out. He is seen reaching for his neck and collapsing from his chair as panic spreads among the attendees, Reuters reported. In another clip, blood is seen spurting from Kirk&#39;s neck immediately after the shot. Reuters noted that it has not independently verified the authenticity of the footage. The incident is the latest in a disturbing trend of political violence in the U.S., which includes two assassination attempts against Trump last year. Kirk shot while discussing gun violenceKirk&rsquo;s appearance was part of a nationwide &quot;American Comeback Tour&quot; targeting U.S. universities. The tour was meant to engage students in political debate, a hallmark of Kirk&rsquo;s style. Seconds before the shooting, Kirk was addressing a question about gun violence from an audience member, according to multiple videos posted online. &ldquo;Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America in the last 10 years?&rdquo; the attendee asked.Kirk responded, &ldquo;Counting or not counting gang violence?&rdquo; &mdash; moments later, the shot rang out. Authorities have not released any information about a possible suspect or motive. Influence and legacyKirk was the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, the largest conservative youth organization in the U.S. The group played a pivotal role in mobilizing support for Donald Trump, particularly among young and minority voters during the 2024 election. Following his re-election, Trump credited Kirk for his influence: &ldquo;You had Turning Point&rsquo;s grassroots armies... It&rsquo;s not my victory, it&rsquo;s your victory,&rdquo; Trump told a crowd in Phoenix last December. Kirk had a wide-reaching platform, with 5.3 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, and was host of the popular &quot;Charlie Kirk Show&quot; podcast and radio program. He had recently co-hosted Fox &amp; Friends on Fox News. Kirk was widely seen as part of a new generation of conservative influencers, including figures like Jack Posobiec, Laura Loomer, and Candace Owens, who amplified Trump&rsquo;s message through digital platforms. Trump announced on social media that all U.S. flags would be flown at half-staff until Sunday in Kirk&rsquo;s honor. Bipartisan condemnationLeaders from across the political spectrum expressed shock and condemnation over the attack. &ldquo;Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,&rdquo; wrote Vice President JD Vance, a close friend of Kirk, on X. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said before Kirk&rsquo;s death was confirmed: &ldquo;The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.&rdquo;

Trump condemned Charlie Kirk's assassination, calling him a martyr for truth and freedom, and vowed his legacy would live on despite the violence.

Articles tagged with "Charlie Kirk death"

Suspected gunman threatened Kirk, tied to scene by DNA: FBI

Accused US sniper jailed in Charlie Kirk killing awaits formal charges

Trump’s conservative ally Charlie Kirk killed in shooting