FBI: Robinson left threat note against Kirk, DNA links him to scene
The suspect accused of assassinating right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah wrote a text message before the shooting that he planned to kill Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday.
In an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” Patel said investigators believe Tyler Robinson also wrote a physical note saying he had the “opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk” and would do so. The note was destroyed, Patel said, but investigators have collected forensic evidence that it had existed and confirmed its contents through interviews.
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Patel did not say who had received the text message or whether anyone had seen the written note before the attack.
Investigators have not publicly identified a motive. Law enforcement authorities have said they believe Robinson acted alone when he shot Kirk, but are investigating whether anyone else had a role in plotting the killing.
Separately, the Washington Post reported on Monday that Robinson had sent a message via the online platform Discord to friends, apparently confessing to the crime on Thursday night, shortly before he was arrested.
“It was me at UVU yesterday. I’m sorry for all of this,” read a message from the account belonging to Robinson, the newspaper reported, citing two people familiar with the chat as well as screenshots it had obtained.
Kirk, an influential ally of U.S. President Donald Trump who co-founded the leading conservative student group Turning Point USA, was killed by a single rifle shot last Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles south (65 km) of Salt Lake City.
Court hearing
Robinson, 22, is expected to be formally charged on Tuesday, around the same time that he makes an initial court appearance by video from his jail cell.
Patel told Fox News that DNA matching the suspect’s was found on a towel that was wrapped around the rifle believed to be the murder weapon and on a screwdriver found on the rooftop that served as the shooter’s sniper perch.
Robinson has not cooperated with authorities, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said on Sunday, but investigators have been interviewing his friends and family in an effort to determine the motive for the shooting.
The killing has shaken a country already gripped by a spike in political violence, fueled by deepening polarisation between the right and the left.
Both sides have universally condemned Kirk’s slaying as an indefensible act of political violence, though partisan differences have emerged over the framing of that message.
Some Republicans, including Trump, have blamed liberal groups for Kirk’s murder despite a lack of evidence, while Democrats have noted that left-wing figures have also been the targets of political violence in recent years.
The left and right also disagree over Kirk’s legacy and how he should be remembered.
