They caught him.

They caught him.

Tyler Robinson, age 22 from Utah – first confirmed by the New York Post. A former student at Utah State. That’s the man who assassinated Charlie Kirk.

Robinson’s father (reported to be current or former law enforcement, depending on the source) turned in his son with the help of a youth pastor. His booking photos, seen above, were released by Utah authorities this morning.

33 hours to catch a killer. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, Robinson was taken into custody at approximately 10pm last night.

That might seem like an eternity in the age of social media, but consider what authorities and investigators had to go with: no clear photo of the suspect’s face (surveillance footage provided no clear view, with his face obscured by a hat and sunglasses) and the necessity to rely on the public for identification. And they were inundated with information, with over 7,000 leads called-in or submitted online, hours upon hours of video footage to be reviewed from multiple sources (UVU, area homes, area businesses, etc.), phone and internet records, the physical location and the fingerprint and DNA evidence, etc. As one official said, it was “a vast, complicated, and a very, very fast-paced investigation” that spanned essentially the whole state of Utah.

All things considered, 33 hours is relatively quick. Remember that it took authorities 5 days to capture Luigi Mangione, the killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson – and in the Mangione case, they had better images.

Much of what we know is based on this morning’s press conference with Utah and federal officials. On the evening of September 11, Tyler Robinson’s father reached out to a family friend (the youth pastor), who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (Utah) with information that Robinson had essentially confessed that he was responsible for Charlie Kirk’s murder. It took convincing from his father to turn himself in.

Officials were able to identify Robinson arriving to the Utah Valley University (UVU) campus in a Dodge Challenger on the morning of September 10, the date of the shooting. When encountered by investigators this early morning, September 12, Robinson was observed with clothing consistent with that footage. From the time he got out of the car to the time of the shooting, he had changed clothes – going from shorts and a t-shirt to a long black shirt and dark pants. The change of clothes was in his backpack. ‘

According to a family member, Robinson had become more political – more liberal – in these last few years. At a recent family dinner, Robinson had mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU and discussed why he didn’t like Kirk and how Kirk was full of hate.

At some point after the initial identification of Robinson, investigator’s interviewed Robinson’s Utah State roommate. The roommate showed investigators Discord messages where Robinson stated:

• He needed to retrieve a rifle from a drop point.

• He was leaving the rifle in a bush.

• He had visually watched the area where the rifle was left.

• He left the rifle in a towel.

• He engraved the bullets and mentioned the rifle and scope being unique.

• He had changed clothes.

By all accounts, the roommate could have prevented Charlie Kirk’s murder by notifying authorities. And he certainly could have, on his own, notified authorities that Robinson was responsible for the killing. It appears to be the case that these two shared political sympathies and a hatred for Charlie Kirk. Why else allow the murder to go forward?

As to the writing on the casings, it has been revealed:

• The fired casing stated: “Notices bulges OWO what’s this?” (Know Your Meme explains this trolling phrase.)

• The other casings stated: “Hey fascist! Catch ↑→↓↓↓” (the code to deliver a bomb in the video game Helldivers 2) and “o bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao” (linked to an Italian song popular with leftists) and “if you read this you are gay lmao”.

Social media has filled in other gaps. Robinson came from an intact and apparently loving family. They are said to be conservative. His parents were proud; his mother’s Facebook page was filled with family photos.

He was a boy scout and raised around firearms. He was bright – having a 4.0 gpa in high school, a 34 on the ACT (out of a possible 36), and a scholarship to college. (Hat tip to X user bobbythebishop for those finds.)

But even the brightest are impressionable. Even the smartest of the young – at least smart on paper – can be, and are, radicalized. Perhaps it was a combination of university and online influences, as the messages on the casings strongly suggest he was moderately, if not terminally, online. Online radicalization might be the more likely scenario, as Utah State just released a statement that Robinson “briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021.”

No matter where the influences came from, however, Tyler Robinson was given every opportunity and he chose leftist extremism to the point of murder.

That’s the danger of the rhetoric against conservatives. The discerning can see through it. But the impressionable are willing to take it to the logical conclusion. Even if it means destroying their lives, and destroying the lives of their families, in the process.