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Utah man in custody for alleged murder of U.S. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk
The alleged suspect in the fatal shooting of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk is in custody in Utah, officials announced in a news conference Friday morning.
Tyler Robinson, 22, of Washington, Utah, was reportedly taken into custody at 10 p.m. local time Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Robinson’s father identified his son from photos that had been made public, and reports say that a family friend contacted the authorities.
U.S. President Donald Trump said early this morning that it was “with a high degree of certainty” that the suspect in the incident had been captured.
Trump was interviewed on the Fox News Channel show Fox and Friends and commented he was made aware of the news of a suspect being in custody.
Federal and Utah state investigators have been appealing for help in finding the person who shot and killed Kirk at a public event at the Utah Valley University campus in Orem on Wednesday.
Authorities had released photos and video of the suspect they believed was responsible.
READ MORE: FBI releases images of person of interest in Charlie Kirk assassination
The 31-year-old co-founder of the non-profit political organization Turning Point USA was an ally of the president and was influential in rallying young Republican voters in the 2024 U.S. federal election.
Trump has said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the country.
This is a developing story – more to come
FBI releases images of person of interest in Charlie Kirk assassination