FBI: DNA evidence links to suspect in Charlie Kirk assassination

OREM Utah DNA on a towel wrapped around a rifle ascertained near where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated matched that of the -year-old accused in the killing FBI Director Kash Patel explained on Monday Investigators also have used DNA evidence to link the suspect Tyler Robinson with a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired Patel narrated Fox News Channel on Monday Agents in Utah are preparing to file capital murder charges against Robinson as early as Tuesday in the killing of Kirk a dominant figure in conservative politics who became a confidant of President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA one of the nation s largest political organizations Kirk who brought young conservative evangelical Christians into politics was shot Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University during one of his countless campus stops The shooting raised fears about increasing political violence in a deeply polarized United States Authorities have disclosed Robinson carried a hatred for Kirk and ascribed to a leftist ideology that had grown in latest years Robinson s family and friends disclosed he spent large amounts of time scrolling the dark corners of the internet Utah Gov Spencer Cox explained Sunday Patel stated Fox News that Robinson had written in a note before the shooting that he had an opportunity to take out Kirk and was going to do it Investigators were able to recover the note s contents after it had been destroyed the FBI director disclosed paraphrasing from the note without revealing more details Agents mentioned Robinson has not been cooperating with law enforcement They say that he may have been radicalized online and that ammunition identified in the gun used to kill Kirk included anti-fascist and meme-culture language engravings Court records show that one bullet casing had the message Hey fascist Catch Robinson was arrested late Thursday near where he grew up around St George in the southwestern corner of Utah between Las Vegas and Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks It s unclear whether he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf and his family has declined to comment to The Associated Press Tributes to Kirk continue across the country A line of mourners wrapped around the Kennedy Center in Washington for a vigil on Sunday and there were moments of silence at several professional sporting events Vice President JD Vance who counted Kirk as a close friend served as a substitute host on Monday for Kirk s talk show on Rumble a streaming platform Please join me as I pay tribute to my friend Vance wrote on social media