The authorities identified the alleged assassin who killed Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Friday as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
Shortly after the press conference in which Utah Gov. Spencer Cox laid out the details of the assassination, more information about the alleged shooter has emerged.
Robinson was a resident of Washington County, Utah. He lived in the St. George area, which is a rural area located about 250 miles south of Utah Valley University (UVU), where the shooting took place. The suspect lived with his family and had no prior criminal history.
NBC News reported that he attended Utah State University for one semester in the fall of 2021. He received at $32,000 presidential scholarship. However, he soon dropped out.
Suspect in Charlie Kirk's killing is identified by officials as Tyler Robinson.
— Jack S. Sardina (@JackS31086) September 12, 2025
Robinson does not appear to have any criminal history, according to state records
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link : https://t.co/5mCw7mzYEH#charliekirk #tylerrobinson pic.twitter.com/upOHDpRtWf
He graduated from Pine View High School in St. George in 2021. Classmates described him as apolitical and noted that he did not appear to harbor any “hate or malice.” He registered to vote in 2021, but did not declare a political party. He had also not voted in either of the two most recent elections.
A family member told investigators that Robinson “had become more political in recent years,” according to Gov. Cox.
Robinson reportedly grew up in a conservative, gun-owning household. HIs father, Matthew Robinson, is a retired Washington County sheriff’s deputy who served for 27 years. He is also a youth pastor at their local church.
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His mother, Amber Jones Robinson, graduated from UVU and works at a local hospital. The two parents are registered Republicans. Family members indicated they never saw any mental health issues.
Tyler Robinson - if convicted of killing the activist Charlie Kirk - faces the death penalty.
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) September 12, 2025
The 22-year-old was named at a joint press conference involving the Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox and the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel. They said they believe the most likely motive… pic.twitter.com/wkaFElW9Rn
Despite growing up in a conservative household, investigators found evidence that he was on the left. Family members told the authorities that he believed Charlie Kirk was “full of hate and spreading hate,” Cox said. Robinson allegedly engraved bullet shells with left-leaning messages such as “O’ bella ciao,” a reference to an Italian folk song that is typically used by Antifa.
He also engraved “Notices Bulge OWO what's this??" on another casing. This is a sexual reference often associated with “furry” culture. Furries people who participate in a subculture centered on animal characters. People dress up as their favorite animals and interact with one another — sometimes in a sexual manner.
Robinson allegedly engraved another casing with a message saying “Hey fascist! Catch!”
The suspect was raised with guns from a young age. Social media photos show him in his younger years handling firearms.
Tyler Robinson, suspected assassin of Charlie Kirk, on June 10, 2017, with a machine gun. Robinson was born April 16, 2003, so he was 14 at the time. The photo was taken in Salt Lake City, Utah. pic.twitter.com/gkYVpaJ6j3
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) September 12, 2025
There is still much more to learn about Robinson and the details of his motivation behind allegedly assassinating Charlie Kirk. But so far, it seems clear that Robinson, if he committed the crime, was motivated by a hatred of the right. Like others on the extreme left, he viewed his political opponents as “fascists.”
As time goes on, I believe we will find out Robinson was radicalized online, just as most of those who have carried out similar atrocities in the digital age.
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