MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
This morning, President Trump went on "Fox & Friends" and announced an arrest had been made in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Investigators in Utah identified a 22-year-old man, Tyler Robinson, and they say they believe he acted alone in killing Kirk. The arrest follows a two-day manhunt in Utah, where Kirk was killed while speaking at a public event in the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem. For the latest on the case, we are joined by NPR's Bobby Allyn, one of our team who is in Orem. Hi, Bobby.
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Tell me a bit more about what we know about this suspect.
ALLYN: Yeah. He doesn't have a criminal history. Public records show that he doesn't seem to be affiliated with any political party. He was a really bright student in high school. He even earned a scholarship to attend Utah State University - that's just north of here, in Logan - but he dropped out after one semester. The university says that was back in 2021.
More recently, Mary Louise, Robinson's family noted that he's become more politically active, which is a really crucial point, since authorities are calling Charlie Kirk's killing a political assassination.
KELLY: How did they find him?
ALLYN: Well, last night, Utah Governor Spencer Cox and FBI director Kash Patel released new video footage of Robinson jumping off a campus roof after Kirk was shot, and officials pleaded with the public to help identify and locate him. And soon after, authorities say a family member of Robinson's reached out to law enforcement. Robinson apparently confessed to shooting Kirk to this family member.
At the press conference, Cox shared an anecdote from Robinson's family that suggests he had been thinking about Charlie Kirk's upcoming event at Utah Valley University well before the killing.
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SPENCER COX: The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10, and in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had.
ALLYN: Now, they didn't specify which viewpoints, but investigators recovered unused bullet casings with phrasings engraved on them, including, quote, "hey, fascist. Catch."
KELLY: OK, so a number of details as we start to piece together what may have happened. Have we gotten any word yet, Bobby, about possible charges?
ALLYN: Well, Robinson is currently being held in a county jail here in Utah on suspicion of aggravated murder and gun charges. State and federal officials have vowed to seek the death penalty against Robinson, but so far, Mary Louise, we have yet to see any charges from state or federal authorities.
KELLY: Bobby, we've got a minute left, but I do want to broaden this out because this, of course, has renewed debate about political violence in the country. Did officials there in Utah address that?
ALLYN: Yeah. You know, Governor Spencer Cox, when he was done describing how law enforcement found Robinson - he did something really remarkable. He took a step back and really reflected on the moment. He, like many right now, really worry that Kirk's death could chill speech and make people afraid to air their views in large public settings. And Cox said, ending political violence needs to be a very high priority, no matter how heated or divided this country becomes.
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COX: We will never be able to solve all the other problems, including the violence problems that people are worried about, if we can't have a clash of ideas safely and securely. Even - especially, especially those ideas with which you disagree.
ALLYN: He said, this political moment can be full of rage, but that hard political conversation should never turn into an attack.
KELLY: All right. Thank you, Bobby.
ALLYN: Thanks, Mary Louise.
KELLY: That's NPR's Bobby Allyn on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. It's NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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