“We got him. On the evening of September 11, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident,” Cox said during a news conference on Friday.

The Governor recalled an incident in which Robinson had dinner before September 10, where he mentioned that Charlie Kirk was coming to Utah Valley University. The suspect then said he “didn’t like him and the viewpoints he had.”

Cox said Robinson had told a family member that “Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.” He explained that investigators had interviewed Robinson’s roommate, who showed messages between him and another account on the messaging platform Discord with the name “Tyler.”

Messages from “Tyler” indicated that he needed to first retrieve a rifle at a designated drop point and then leave it in a bush wrapped in a towel. Messages also mentioned engraving bullets, a scope, and a rifle being “unique.”

Utah Governor reveals messages written on bullets used by Charlie Kirk shooting suspect
Governor Spencer Cox added that “Tyler” also mentioned he had changed outfits in the messages. He confirmed that inscriptions were found on the bullet casings belonging to Tyler Robinson.

One read, “Notices, bulges.” Three unfired casings were also found with inscriptions that read, “Hey fascist! Catch!”, “o bella ciao, bella ciao” and “if you read this you are gay lmao”.

Spencer Cox also paid tribute to law enforcement, the FBI, and the public for their engagement in the manhunt and for helping them “get to this point.” Also, he thanked the family members of the suspect, Tyler Robinson, for doing the right thing and bringing him to law enforcement.

“I especially want to thank the family of Charlie Kirk,” Spencer Cox concluded: “I want us to be thinking of them as we bring justice to this case.”