Man arrested in Charlie Kirk killing had recently 'become more political,' police say
by Carter Williams kslcom · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Tyler James Robinson, 22, was arrested for investigation of aggravated murder in the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.
- Robinson's political motives are under investigation; police say bullets had political engravings.
- Robinson, an inactive voter, recently became more political, according to his family.
WASHINGTON, Washington County — State and federal officials are still piecing together a motive behind the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, but they say politics appear to be a major factor in the shooting.
Tyler James Robinson, 22, of Washington, Washington County, was booked into the Utah County Jail Friday for investigation of aggravated murder and other offenses related to Wednesday's shooting. He was taken into custody in Washington County on Thursday night before being transported to Utah County.
His family's home and the townhome he resided at in St. George have each been large crime scenes for most of Friday as federal agents search for evidence and other clues in their investigation.
Details about Robinson's political ideology have been sparse. He is registered as unaffiliated with any political party but was also an inactive voter, according to state records. That means he had not voted in the last two general elections, including the 2024 presidential election, and failed to respond to notices sent to him by the Washington County clerk.
However, family members say Robinson — a third-year student within the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in St. George — "had become more political in recent years," and had mentioned to a family member that Kirk was coming to UVU during a dinner sometime before the day of the shooting, according to a police booking affidavit compiled by the Utah Attorney General's Office.
"They talked about why they didn't like him (Kirk) and the viewpoints he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate," the affidavit states.
Political references were engraved on bullets collected from a rifle believed to be the weapon used in the shooting. One read, "hey fascist! CATCH!" and another read, "O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!," according to the arrest report. The latter is a lyric from "Bella ciao," an Italian anti-fascism song written in the 1950s.
"I think that speaks for itself," said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, when he was asked what he believed the messages meant.
Robinson attended Utah State University for a semester in 2021 before enrolling at Dixie Technical College, according to the Utah Board of Higher Education. He also received some concurrent enrollment credit at Utah Tech University while in high school. He graduated from Pine View High School in 2021, St. George News reported.
He had no criminal history in the state court system before his arrest.
Kristen Sugarman, a neighbor of the Robinsons who worked at some of the schools Robinson attended, said she was shocked when she learned he had been arrested in the case.
"He was always very quiet. He was very smart. He had just a real mellow personality — never caused any problems," she said, adding that his parents are "great."
Robinson's St. George neighbors were equally stunned. They said knowing the suspected shooter lived so close to home was unnerving.
"I don't want to think that this dude lived here, and our neighbor was associated with this in any way. It's crazy," said Jessie Riley.
Washington officials declined to provide any information about Robinson, referring all questions to state and federal investigators.
Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, whose district includes Washington County, posted a video to social media on Friday, calling on residents to "stay calm and remember the human side," and lower the political temperature amid the international spotlight now on the area.
The incident, she said, isn't representative of the community.
"What happened was wrong and it was ugly, and law enforcement has that well in hand," she said. "They're going to handle it, but we're going to be left with each other. … This doesn't have to turn into political violence or riots or anger at your neighbors. We can love each other through this."
Contributing: Brian Carlson
Photos
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Related topics
Charlie Kirk killingPoliticsUtahSouthern UtahUtah CountyPolice & Courts
Carter Williams
Carter Williams is a reporter for KSL.com. He covers Salt Lake City, statewide transportation issues, outdoors, the environment and weather. He is a graduate of Southern Utah University.