Man arrested in Charlie Kirk’s killing ‘saw Trump ally as person spreading hate’

Family members of the young Utah man accused of shooting Charlie Kirk told authorities he had recently become “more political” and saw the ally of US President Donald Trump as a person spreading hate, according to charging documents.

Tyler James Robinson, 22, of Washington, Utah, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm, and obstruction of justice, all felonies, according to an affidavit filed in court and released Friday. A judge ordered that he be held without bail.

Robinson is registered to vote but is not affiliated with a political party, according to Utah state records. He was also listed as inactive, meaning he had not voted in at least the last two general elections.

State and federal court records do not show any prior criminal cases involving him.

His listed address in charging documents is the six-bedroom home of his parents, who own a granite countertop business and are registered to vote as Republicans.

It was not immediately clear on Friday whether Robinson had a defence lawyer who could comment on his behalf. Messages seeking comment left with family members including his parents received no response.

Robinson has two younger brothers and his parents have been married for about 25 years, according to social media posts.

The family lives in a suburb of St George, a city in the southern part of the state about a three-and-a-half hour drive from the Utah Valley University campus where authorities say Robinson shot and killed Mr Kirk.

An honour roll student in high school who scored in the 99th percentile nationally on standardised tests, he was admitted to Utah State University in 2021 on a prestigious academic scholarship, according to a video of him reading his acceptance letter posted to a family member’s social media account.

He attended for only one semester, according to a university spokesperson.

Robinson is currently enrolled as a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College in St George.

Social media posts by Robinson’s mother reflect an active family with vacations to Disneyland, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Alaska.

They frequently spent time outdoors — boating, fishing, zip-lining and target shooting.

A 2017 post shows the family visiting a military facility and posing with assault rifles. A young Robinson is shown smiling as he grips the handles of a 50-caliber heavy machine gun.

After he graduated from high school in 2021, Robinson’s mother praised her eldest son for his academic success on her social media page, and both his parents helped him move into his dorm at Utah State University that autumn. She did not have any public Facebook posts after 2022.

In one Facebook post, Robinson’s mother described him as “beautifully talented on the piano” and a “tech genius”.

“He has a wonderful sense of humour and loves the outdoors,” she wrote.

The break in the case came after a family member of Robinson approached a family friend with information that Robinson had “confessed” or implied involvement in the shooting, Utah governor Spencer Cox told reporters on Friday, shortly after Robinson was taken into custody.

Mr Cox said it is believed that Robinson acted alone. Family members said Robinson “had become more political in recent years”, Mr Cox said, describing a recent family dinner in which Robinson mentioned that Kirk planned to speak at UVU.

“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” Mr Cox said, referring to Robinson and an unnamed family member.

“The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”

Authorities then interviewed a friend of Robinson who showed them a series of messages on the social media platform Discord in which Robinson discussed obtaining a gun.

When authorities took him into custody, court records show, Robinson also was wearing clothing “consistent” with surveillance photographs of the person of interest.

Mr Cox said ammunition found at the scene had engravings that reference meme culture and referred to fascism.