‘Hey fascist! Catch!’ engraving on one of the bullets in Robinson’s rifle read
Authorities have arrested Charlie Kirk’s suspected assassin: Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident.
President Donald Trump teased the arrest during a Friday appearance on Fox & Friends, saying, “I think with a high degree of certainty, we have him.” Trump said that the suspect’s father reported his son to “a minister who was involved with law enforcement.”
Utah governor Spencer Cox confirmed Robinson’s identity and his arrest during a press briefing later Friday morning.
“We got him,” he said. “On the evening of September 11, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted [police] with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he committed the incident.”
A family member told investigators Robinson had become “more political in recent years,” Cox said. At a dinner, Robinson brought up his contempt for Kirk and accused him of “spreading hate.” Bullets found in Robinson’s rifle were engraved with political messages, including one that read “Hey fascist! Catch!” echoing a line Democrats have routinely aimed at Trump and other MAGA conservatives like Kirk.
Cox said Thursday night that the state was preparing to pursue the death penalty.
According to CNN, the suspect confessed to his father, who called authorities and held him until they arrived. Sources told Fox News that late Thursday, police “walked in” Robinson near St. George, Utah—more than three hours from Orem, where Kirk was shot.
Before Friday morning, the outlook for catching Kirk’s assassin seemed uncertain. Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said Thursday that investigators had “good video footage” of the suspect, but didn’t plan to release it immediately.
“We are working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual,” Mason said. If those efforts failed, he added, authorities would release the video to get help from the public in identifying the shooter.
Indeed, those efforts did fail, even after the FBI released several photos throughout the day, showing the suspect wearing dark sunglasses, a ball cap, a black T-shirt with an American flag on it, and jeans. Thursday evening, authorities released video of the suspect sprinting across a roof, dropping off the side of the building, and running across a grassy area next to a parking lot and into a wooded area. But it was taken from a distance, making it impossible to make out his face or any identifying features.
We are asking for the public’s help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
1-800-CALL-FBI
Digital media tips: https://t.co/K7maX81TjJ pic.twitter.com/ALuVkTXuDc— FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) September 11, 2025
Authorities also said Thursday that investigators had tracked Robinson’s movements leading up to and immediately following the assassination and obtained what they believe was the murder weapon, a high-powered bolt-action rifle.
“After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off the building, and fled off the campus and into a neighborhood,” Mason said. “Our investigators have worked through those neighborhoods, contacting anybody they can with doorbell cameras, witnesses, and thoroughly worked through those communities trying to identify any leads.”
Investigators found the older-model .30 caliber hunting rifle in the nearby woods, according to FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls. After Robinson’s arrest, Cox said investigators were shown Discord chats from Robinson saying he needed to “retrieve a rifle from a drop point” and would leave “the rifle in a bush.” His messages also discussed engraving bullets.
Three bullets were found in the rifle with text scrawled into them, Cox said. “Hey fascist! Catch!” one read. Another said, “If you read this, you are gay lmao.”
The third referenced “Bella Ciao,” a song favored by resistance movements and revolutionary anti-capitalist partisans.
Cox said authorities believe Robinson acted alone and aren’t expecting additional arrests, but the investigation is ongoing.
Kirk was shot in the neck Wednesday afternoon during one of his signature “Prove Me Wrong” sessions at Utah Valley University. Before Robinson was detained, two other suspects were taken into custody but were quickly released.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
