The man accused in the Charlie Kirk assassination had earlier expressed to family his opposition to the viewpoints of the conservative activist, authorities said on Friday.
Tyler Robinson, 22, had become “more political” in the run-up to the shooting and had indicated to a family friend afterwards that he was responsible, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said.
He also cited as key pieces of evidence, including engravings on bullets found in a rifle believed to have been used in the attack, as well as chatting app messages attributed to the accused shooter that a roommate shared with law enforcement after the shooting.
Cox, a Republican, called Kirk’s killing an “attack on the American experiment,” and he urged a new generation to “choose a different path.”
Robinson is believed to have acted alone, and the investigation is ongoing, Cox said.
Robinson’s arrest early on Friday morning (late on Friday night AEST) was first disclosed by US President Donald Trump, who said in a Fox News interview that, “With a high degree of certainty, we have him.”
Cox echoed the president’s comments, starting off the press conference by announcing: “We got him”.
“On the evening of September 11, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident,” he said.
A minister who is also involved with law enforcement turned in the suspect to authorities, with his family also involved.
“Somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm, that’s him,’” Trump said.
The person is still being questioned as of Friday morning, the sources told CNN.
Two of the sources said that the man confessed to his father that he was the shooter. His father told authorities and said he had secured his son until he could be formally detained.
Asked about what will happen to the suspect, Trump said he hoped the person would be found guilty.
Later in the interview, Trump added that Cox has signaled he’d seek the death penalty for Kirk’s shooter.
“In Utah, they have the death penalty, and you have a very good governor there,” Trump said.
“The governor, I’ve gotten to know him, the governor is very intent on the death penalty in this case.”
Pressed if Kirk’s shooting was a “one-off”, isolated case, Trump said it “appears to be.”
The president also said he hadn’t watched video of Kirk’s death after several clips of Kirk’s shooting on the Utah Valley University campus were posted on social media.
“I didn’t want to watch, I heard about it,” Trump said.
“I would have never made a good doctor, let me put it that way. I mean, I heard enough – I didn’t want to watch it, I didn’t want to remember Charlie that way.”
Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday had released photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible.
Kirk was shot as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at Utah Valley University in Orem.
More than 7000 leads and tips had poured in, officials said.
Authorities have yet to publicly name the suspect or cite a motive in the killing, the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States.
The attack, carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.
The videos show Kirk, a close ally of Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out.
Kirk reaches up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck.
Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.
The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a college-age appearance, fired one shot from the rooftop, according to authorities.
Video released showed the person then walking through the grass and across the street before disappearing.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the US Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited with Kirk’s family on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and the 2024 election.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organise and convene,” Vance wrote.
“He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”
Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based.
Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral. Details have not yet been announced.
Kirk was taking questions about gun violence
Kirk was a conservative provocateur who became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.
One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the shooting as Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence.
The debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Centre on campus was billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour”.
The event generated a polarising campus reaction.
An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1000 signatures.
The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue”.
Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”
Attendees barricaded themselves in classrooms
Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students.
They used tables to barricade the door and to shield themselves in the corners.
Someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.
On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly used at his events — “PROVE ME WRONG” — stood, dishevelled.
Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said she has been staying inside with her door locked.
“With the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry,” Murphy said.
Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.
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