The man accused of fatally shooting conservative influencer Charlie Kirk at a Utah university last week has been linked to evidence found at the scene through DNA sequencing, FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday.
Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Utah, was arrested and faces charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice in connection with the shooting last Wednesday at Utah Valley University.
He is being held in Utah County Jail and is expected to be charged on Tuesday. It is not immediately clear if he has a lawyer.
Robinson’s actions were premeditated and based on his political, left-leaning beliefs, Patel said Monday in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”
“His family has collectively told investigators that he subscribed to left-wing ideology, and even more so in these last couple of years, and he had a text message exchange — he, the suspect, with another individual — in which he claimed that he had an opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and he was going to do it because of his hatred for what Charlie stood for, ” the FBI director said.
Patel said that DNA matching Robinson was found on a towel allegedly wrapped around a firearm that was discarded in a wooded area near the university. The DNA was also found on a screwdriver found on a rooftop, Patel said.
Patel added on “Fox & Friends” that he and FBI agents “walked the entire crime scene” after he arrived in Utah and found the evidence.
“I can report today that the DNA hits from the towel that was wrapped around the firearm and the DNA on the screwdriver are positively processed for the suspect in custody,” Patel said.
Patel stressed that only the towel wrapped around the firearm has been processed so far — the gun itself is being analyzed by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives experts in Maryland.
Patel also defended his record in handling the case, which has received sharp criticism over alleged “grandstanding” and the announcement that “the subject” was in custody shortly before that person was released without charge.
When asked about the “subject” being detained, Patel said he was just being transparent with the public and that it was normal to detain suspects who turn out to be innocent.
“The job of the FBI is not just to manhunt the actual suspect who did the killing, or suspects, but it’s also to eliminate targets and eliminate subjects who are not involved in the process, and that’s what we were doing,” he said.
He added, “Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment? Sure. But do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not.”
Patel played down a rift with local law enforcement officials, saying the local and state police forces had been “fantastic.” But he admitted that he was frustrated by a delay in the sharing of photos and had to “expedite the process.”
“The photos were produced, they just weren’t produced in a timely fashion that I felt was appropriate for an investigation of this magnitude. So I came in and I accelerated that process,” he said.
Robinson was a “squeaky clean” and “considerate” boy from suburban Utah who had recently developed an interest in politics, family members and neighbors said.
The FBI said the Mauser bolt-action rifle allegedly used to kill Kirk was found near bullet casings with messages inscribed into them, including “Hey fascist! Catch!”
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