FBI Director Kash Patel and Utah Governor Spencer Cox Announce Arrest in Charlie Kirk Assassination Investigation

[00:06] Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

[00:10] >> At today's press conference, we will

[00:12] hear from Governor Cox,

[00:14] FBI Director Cash Patel

[00:17] and Sheriff Mike Smith. We also have

[00:20] with us Utah DPS Commissioner Bo Mason,

[00:24] Lieutenant Governor Dedra Henderson,

[00:27] FBI special agent in charge Robert BS,

[00:30] and local and federal law enforcement

[00:32] partners. Following the remarks today,

[00:35] Governor Cox, Director Patel, and

[00:37] Commissioner Mason will take questions.

[00:39] Thank you.

[01:02] Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We

[01:04] got him.

[01:06] On the evening of September 11th, a

[01:09] family member of Tyler Robinson reached

[01:11] out to a family friend who contacted the

[01:14] Washington County Sheriff's Office with

[01:15] information that Robinson had confessed

[01:18] to them or implied that he had committed

[01:20] the incident. This information was

[01:23] relayed to the Utah County Sheriff's

[01:24] Office and scene investigators at Utah

[01:27] Valley University. This information was

[01:29] also conveyed to the FBI. Investigators

[01:32] reviewed additional f video footage from

[01:35] UVU surveillance and identified Robinson

[01:38] arriving on UVU campus in a gray Dodge

[01:41] Challenger at approximately 8:29 a.m. on

[01:44] September 10th in which he is observed

[01:47] on video in a plain maroon t-shirt,

[01:50] light colored shorts, a black hat with a

[01:52] white logo, and light colored shoes.

[01:55] When encountered in person by

[01:56] investigators in Washington County on

[01:58] September 12th in the early morning

[02:00] hours, Robinson was observed in

[02:02] consistent clothing with those

[02:04] surveillance images. Investigators

[02:07] interviewed a family member of Robinson

[02:09] who stated that Robinson had become more

[02:11] political in recent years. The family

[02:14] member referenced a recent incident in

[02:16] which Robinson came to dinner prior to

[02:18] September 10th. And in the conversation

[02:21] with another family member, Robinson

[02:23] mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to

[02:25] UVU. They talked about why they didn't

[02:28] like him and the viewpoints that he had.

[02:31] The family member also stated Kirk was

[02:33] full of hate and spreading hate. The

[02:36] family member also confirmed Robinson

[02:37] had a gray Dodge Challenger.

[02:40] Investigators identified an individual

[02:42] as the roommate of Robinson.

[02:44] Investigators interviewed that roommate

[02:47] who stated that his roommate, referring

[02:49] to Robinson, made a joke on Discord.

[02:52] Investigators asked if he would show

[02:53] them the messages on Discord. He opened

[02:56] it and showed several messages to

[02:57] investigators and allowed investigators

[03:00] to take photos of the screen as each

[03:02] message was shown by Robinson's

[03:04] roommate. These photos consisted of

[03:06] various messages, including content of

[03:09] messages between the phone contact name

[03:11] Tyler with an emoji icon and Robinson's

[03:14] roommate's device. The content of these

[03:17] messages included messages affiliated

[03:20] with the contact Tyler stating a need to

[03:23] retrieve a rifle from a drop point,

[03:26] leaving the rifle in a bush, messages

[03:29] related to a to visually watching the

[03:32] area where a rifle was left, and a

[03:35] message referring to having left the

[03:37] rifle wrapped in a towel. The messages

[03:41] also refer to engraving bullets and a

[03:44] mention of a scope and the rifle being

[03:47] unique. Messages from the contact Tyler

[03:50] also mentioned that he had changed

[03:53] outfits.

[03:56] I know there's been speculation as well

[03:58] as to uh the the writing on those

[04:02] casings,

[04:04] those those uh those bullet casings. And

[04:07] uh I believe we have that as well and I

[04:11] I will share that with you now.

[04:16] So the area north of Campus Drive Road

[04:18] where the suspect crossed over, you saw

[04:20] some of that in the video that we

[04:22] released last night consists of a grassy

[04:24] area with trees on the edge of the UVU

[04:26] campus. Investigators discovered a

[04:29] boltaction rifle wrapped in a dark

[04:31] colored towel. The rifle was determined

[04:33] to be a Mouser model 98 306 caliber 306

[04:38] caliber bolt-action rifle. The rifle had

[04:40] a scope mounted on top of it.

[04:42] Investigators noted inscriptions that

[04:44] had been engraved on casings found with

[04:47] the rifle. Inscriptions on a fired

[04:50] casing read, "Notices bulges capital O.

[04:56] What's this question mark?" Inscriptions

[04:58] on the three unfired casings read, "Hey,

[05:01] fascist, exclamation point, catch,

[05:04] exclamation point." Up arrow symbol,

[05:07] right arrow, and uh symbol, and three

[05:10] down arrow symbols. A second unfired

[05:13] casing read, "Oell, Bellachow,

[05:16] Bellachchow, Chow, Chow." And a third

[05:19] unfired casing read, "If you read this,

[05:22] you are gay." L M AO.

[05:27] We are indebted to law enforcement uh

[05:31] across the state who has worked

[05:32] seamlessly together, local law

[05:34] enforcement, state law enforcement, and

[05:37] our federal partners with the uh with

[05:39] the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

[05:41] We're grateful for everyone who worked

[05:43] together in uh in in such a short amount

[05:45] of time to uh to find this person and to

[05:51] uh and to bring justice. I want to thank

[05:53] the public who has been so engaged

[05:56] reviewing uh reviewing videos, re

[05:58] helping us with uh sending in tips and

[06:01] uh helping us get to this point.

[06:04] I want to thank uh the uh the family

[06:07] members of Tyler Robinson who did the

[06:09] right thing in this case and were able

[06:12] to uh to bring him into uh to law

[06:14] enforcement as well.

[06:18] I especially want to thank the family of

[06:23] Charlie Kirk, uh, Erica, um, Charlie's

[06:26] parents, his children. I want us to be

[06:30] thinking of them as we bring justice in

[06:32] this case. Um, they will be involved in

[06:35] that justice. Uh, we will be working

[06:37] very closely with them as we move

[06:39] through this process as well. This is a

[06:43] a very sad day for again for our

[06:46] country. uh a terrible day for the state

[06:49] of Utah, but I'm grateful that at this

[06:52] moment we have an opportunity to bring

[06:54] closure to this very dark chapter in our

[06:56] nation's history.

[06:59] With that, I will now turn the uh turn

[07:01] the microphone over to the director of

[07:03] the FBI, Cash Patel.

[07:09] >> Thank you, Governor.

[07:12] This is what happens when you let good

[07:13] cops be cops.

[07:15] The FBI and our partners are proud to

[07:17] stand here today together to bring

[07:19] justice to the family of Charlie Kirk

[07:21] and honor his memory. I want to express

[07:23] my deep gratitude to President Trump,

[07:25] the Vice President, and the entire White

[07:27] House who have been so incredibly

[07:28] supportive with both resources and just

[07:30] personally to the FBI as a team. They

[07:33] had our backs the entire way. And I just

[07:35] want to express my gratitude for giving

[07:36] us the resources we need to operate in

[07:39] this space to bring this sort of justice

[07:41] at this sort of speed. In 33 hours, we

[07:45] have made historic progress for Charlie.

[07:48] Governor Cox, our partnership has been

[07:52] absolutely incredible these last few

[07:54] days. Our partnership will endure. Your

[07:57] state and local partners, your sheriffs,

[07:59] your DPS community has been unbelievably

[08:02] impressive in the hardest of times. And

[08:05] a case like this cannot be solved,

[08:07] cannot be brought without partnering

[08:09] with your state and local authorities.

[08:10] The FBI has a certain role to play and

[08:12] we will play that role. Um, and we will

[08:14] lead out for the federal government. But

[08:16] Governor Cox, we are so grateful for

[08:18] your state partnership that led out on

[08:20] this investigation.

[08:22] A little bit of the timeline.

[08:24] Charlie was shot at 12:23 p.m. on

[08:26] Wednesday. The first FBI agents on

[08:29] arrived on scene in 16 minutes with

[08:32] chiefs of police at 12:39 and secured

[08:35] the scene. The FBI immediately launched

[08:38] fixedwing assets. We utilize these

[08:41] assets to transport personnel, specialty

[08:43] technicians, hostage rescue teams. We

[08:46] also utilize these assets to go back and

[08:48] forth from the east coast and here in

[08:49] Utah to transport forensic evidence and

[08:52] other evidence that will be analyzed and

[08:53] is being analyzed at our FBI

[08:55] laboratories in Quantico and other

[08:57] laboratories, including the ATF.

[08:59] At my direction, the FBI released the

[09:01] first set of FBI photos of the suspect

[09:04] at 10:00 a.m. local time on 911. Then

[09:08] shortly thereafter, the FBI reward of

[09:10] $100,000 was released at 10:45 a.m.

[09:13] local.

[09:15] Myself and Deputy Director Bonino

[09:17] arrived on the scene at approximately

[09:18] 5:30 p.m. on 911.

[09:22] The governor led a press conference last

[09:23] night at approximately 8:00 p.m. where

[09:27] at my direction, the FBI released a

[09:29] never-before-seen video of the suspect.

[09:32] We also released new images to the

[09:35] public of the suspect.

[09:38] And just last night,

[09:40] the suspect was taken into custody at 10

[09:42] p.m. local time.

[09:45] In less than 36 hours, 33 to be precise,

[09:49] thanks to the full weight of the federal

[09:51] government and leading out with the

[09:53] partners here in the state of Utah and

[09:55] Governor Cox, the suspect was h

[09:57] apprehended in historic time period. And

[10:00] I want to highlight what Governor Cox

[10:02] said. This would not have been possible

[10:03] without you, the media, and you, the

[10:05] public. That's why we went so public, so

[10:08] fast, and we're so transparent, and

[10:09] we're committed to that transparency.

[10:12] The crime scene, just a little bit

[10:14] there, it is a large crime scene. state

[10:16] and local authorities along with federal

[10:18] authorities processed that crime scene

[10:20] quickly. And I even had the um

[10:25] ability to walk through that crime scene

[10:28] and walk through the steps the suspect

[10:31] took to learn more about what was needed

[10:33] and what resources we needed to create a

[10:36] full picture for the FBI and leadership

[10:38] back in Washington. Furthermore,

[10:40] thankfully to state and local partners,

[10:42] forensic evidence has been seized and

[10:44] continues to be garnered. Forensic

[10:46] evidence has already been evaluated at

[10:48] FBI laboratories in Quantico and state

[10:50] local authorities here. We will continue

[10:52] to process evidence as we see it, as we

[10:54] collect it, and we will continue to

[10:56] deliver to Governor Cox and his team.

[10:59] Last night, we had a total of

[11:01] approximately 7,000 interviews, excuse

[11:03] me, 7,000 leads. As of this morning,

[11:05] thanks to your great work, we have over

[11:08] 11,000 leads that were called in to the

[11:11] FBI, and we are running out every single

[11:13] lead that we can. Every one of those

[11:16] leads will be run out.

[11:19] The arrest is a testament to the

[11:20] dedication of good law enforcement being

[11:22] great and partnerships in law

[11:25] enforcement, which I've tried to

[11:26] highlight as my tenure as the director

[11:28] of the FBI. There is no better

[11:30] relationship for law enforcement than

[11:32] the FBI to partner with state and local

[11:34] authorities. And you've seen it here in

[11:36] these last few days. The FBI Salt Lake

[11:39] Field Office along with our offices in

[11:41] LA, Phoenix, Denver, San Antonio, Las

[11:43] Vegas, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, our

[11:46] headquarters component in Quantico all

[11:48] participate in the FBI. I want to

[11:50] express my deep gratitude to the

[11:51] employees of the FBI, the men and women,

[11:55] the evidence response team tacticians,

[11:57] the special operators, the agents, the

[11:59] support staff. You have done monumental

[12:03] work in historic time

[12:06] when the public who had a right to

[12:08] demand such an expeditious

[12:10] solving of an investigation.

[12:13] The FBI answered that call diligently,

[12:17] critically important to our nation, and

[12:19] we delivered. And I'm proud to be their

[12:21] leader, and I'm proud to be the director

[12:23] of the FBI.

[12:24] This is a very much an ongoing

[12:26] investigation, as the governor said, and

[12:28] we will continue to work with state and

[12:29] local authorities uh to develop the

[12:31] investigation, to provide them the

[12:33] evidence they need for their ongoing

[12:35] prosecutions. and we will be here to

[12:37] answer every call they absolutely have

[12:39] as long as it takes for as long as we

[12:42] need to find and apprehend whatever

[12:44] suspects were involved in this crime.

[12:48] Lastly,

[12:51] to my friend Charlie Kirk,

[12:54] rest now, brother. We have the watch and

[12:57] I'll see you in Valhalla.

[13:06] Thank you and good morning. I would just

[13:09] like to take a few minutes as as the

[13:12] sheriff to express my gratitude for

[13:15] everybody who has played a part in this

[13:17] investigation.

[13:19] As you know, it's been a vast a

[13:21] complicated and a very very fast-paced

[13:24] investigation. You're looking at people

[13:26] standing up here who are running on if

[13:29] they got an hour's sleep in the last

[13:31] couple days, they're probably lucky. Um,

[13:34] it has been very taxing. It has been so

[13:37] impressive speaking on behalf of the

[13:40] local law enforcement

[13:43] to see the cooperation that we have seen

[13:45] in this type of case. uh across the

[13:48] state, sheriffs, chiefs, um our our

[13:52] state partners have stepped up and have

[13:54] come to the call on anything that we

[13:56] needed. Uh our county chiefs have been

[13:59] phenomenal.

[14:00] Our Utah County Attorney, Jeff Gray,

[14:03] who's standing up here with us, has been

[14:05] phenomenal in leading us through this

[14:07] investigation.

[14:09] I would like to thank the federal

[14:10] government for for their resource

[14:13] resources, their assets. Our local team

[14:16] here, our FBI team has been

[14:18] extraordinary in helping us work through

[14:20] this and bring this person to justice.

[14:25] Most of all,

[14:27] I would like to thank the public and

[14:30] specifically

[14:32] I would like to thank the public who

[14:34] turned to prayers and who turned to

[14:38] positiveness for us. I would like to

[14:41] thank them on behalf of the law

[14:43] enforcement community because we needed

[14:44] those prayers. That's what we needed to

[14:46] get through this. We needed your support

[14:49] and you gave it to us. We needed your

[14:51] patience and you gave it to us. And I

[14:53] would like to thank you for the Kirk

[14:55] family because that's what they need is

[14:58] your support and your prayers and that

[15:00] will get us through all of this. So,

[15:03] thank you everybody for everybody that

[15:05] have stepped up. We've had such a

[15:06] phenomenal response to this. Thank you.

[15:14] I also want to give a special thanks to

[15:17] the attorney general and the department

[15:18] of justice. Their unwavering support and

[15:21] their commitment to justice is shown

[15:24] true here. And without AG Bondi and

[15:27] Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch and

[15:28] the resources they brought to bear, we

[15:30] would not have been able to complete our

[15:31] mission. And I just want to say special

[15:33] thanks. It's an honor to be a part of

[15:34] the Department of Justice.

[15:39] >> Thank you again uh to our incredible law

[15:41] enforcement team who has worked so hard.

[15:44] Um Sheriff, I got a solid 90 minutes

[15:46] last night, so I'm probably the most

[15:47] well-rested person up here. Uh ladies

[15:50] and gentlemen,

[15:52] I uh I get the microphone. So, uh, I

[15:55] hope you'll permit me a moment just to

[15:57] share a few more thoughts about where we

[16:00] are and and how we got here and and, uh,

[16:03] and and maybe a little bit of where we

[16:05] go from here. Um, I I don't want to get

[16:07] too preachy, but I think it's important

[16:10] that we with eyes wide open understand

[16:13] what what's happening in our our country

[16:15] today.

[16:17] I' I've heard I've heard people say,

[16:20] "Well, why are we why are we so invested

[16:22] in this? There's violence happening all

[16:25] across our country and violence is

[16:28] tragic everywhere and every life taken

[16:31] is is a child of God um who deserves our

[16:35] love and respect and dignity. This is uh

[16:39] this is certainly about the uh the

[16:41] tragic death assassination political

[16:44] assassination of of Charlie Kirk. Um,

[16:48] but it is also much bigger than an

[16:51] attack on an individual. It is an attack

[16:55] on all of us. It is an attack on the

[16:59] American experiment. It is it is an

[17:01] attack on our ideals.

[17:06] This cuts to the very foundation of who

[17:09] we are, of who we have been, and uh and

[17:13] who we could be in better times.

[17:17] Political violence is different than any

[17:19] other type of violence

[17:22] for for lots of different reasons. one

[17:24] because in the very act that Charlie

[17:27] championed of expression

[17:30] that freedom of expression that is

[17:33] enshrined in our founding documents in

[17:36] in having his life taken in that very

[17:39] act

[17:41] makes it more difficult for people to

[17:43] feel like they can share their ideas

[17:46] that they can speak freely. We will

[17:49] never be able to solve all the other

[17:51] problems including the violence problems

[17:52] that people are are worried about if we

[17:55] can't have a clash of ideas safely and

[17:58] securely

[17:59] even especially especially those ideas

[18:03] with which you disagree.

[18:06] That's why this matters so much.

[18:12] Over the last 48 hours, I have been as

[18:16] angry as I have ever been,

[18:20] as sad as I have ever been.

[18:24] And

[18:27] um it was uh as as as anger pushed me to

[18:30] the brink, it was actually Charlie's

[18:33] words that pulled me back. I'd like to

[18:36] share some of those. And specifically

[18:38] right now, if I could, I I need to talk

[18:40] to the young people in our state, in my

[18:43] state, and and all across the country.

[18:47] As President Trump reminded me, he said,

[18:49] "You know who who really loved Charlie?

[18:52] The youths." He's right. Um, young

[18:55] people love Charlie. And young people

[18:58] hated Charlie.

[19:01] And Charlie went into those places

[19:05] anyway.

[19:07] And these are the words that have helped

[19:09] me.

[19:11] Charlie said, "When people stop talking,

[19:15] that's when you get violence."

[19:18] He said, "The weak can never forgive.

[19:21] Forgiveness is the attribute of the

[19:22] strong. The only way out of the

[19:25] labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.

[19:29] Welcome without judgment, love without

[19:31] condition, forgive without limit."

[19:35] He said, "Always forgive your enemies.

[19:38] Nothing annoys them so much."

[19:41] A few months ago, I referenced this last

[19:43] night, Charlie posted to social media,

[19:45] "When things are moving very fast and

[19:47] people are losing their minds, it's

[19:49] important to stay grounded. Turn off

[19:52] your phone, read scripture, spend time

[19:55] with friends, and remember, internet

[19:57] fury is not real life. It's going to be

[20:01] okay.

[20:03] He again said when you stop having a

[20:05] human connection with someone you

[20:06] disagree with, it becomes a lot easier

[20:09] to commit violence.

[20:12] He said what we as a culture have to get

[20:14] back to is being able to have a

[20:17] reasonable agreement. Being able to have

[20:19] reasonable agreement where violence is

[20:22] not an option. Now again to my young

[20:26] friends out there,

[20:29] you are inheriting a country where

[20:33] politics

[20:34] feels like rage.

[20:37] It feels like rage is the only option.

[20:41] But through those words, we have a

[20:44] reminder

[20:45] that we can choose a different path.

[20:49] Your generation has an opportunity to

[20:51] build a culture that is very different

[20:53] than what we are suffering through right

[20:55] now.

[20:56] Not by pretending differences don't

[20:58] matter, but by embracing our differences

[21:01] and having those hard conversations.

[21:03] I I think we need more moral clarity

[21:06] right now. I hear all the time that

[21:09] words are violence. Words are not

[21:11] violence. Violence is violence.

[21:15] And there is one person responsible

[21:18] for what happened here and that person

[21:21] is now in custody

[21:24] and will be charged soon and will be

[21:26] held accountable.

[21:29] And and yet all of us have an

[21:32] opportunity right now to do something

[21:33] different. I I want to thank my fellow

[21:35] Utons. Uh

[21:39] you know, this bad stuff happens. Um and

[21:43] uh for for 33 hours, I was

[21:49] I was praying that uh that um if this

[21:53] had to happen here that it wouldn't be

[21:55] one of us, that somebody drove from

[21:58] another state, somebody came from

[22:00] another country.

[22:04] Sadly, that that uh that prayer was not

[22:06] answered the way I had hoped for just

[22:09] because I thought it would make it

[22:10] easier on us if we could just say, "Hey,

[22:12] we don't do that here." Um and indeed,

[22:15] Utah is a special place. We lead the

[22:18] nation in charitable giving. We lead the

[22:19] nation in service every year. Um but it

[22:23] did happen here

[22:25] and it it was one of us.

[22:30] But

[22:31] I I want you to look at how Utons

[22:34] reacted the last two nights.

[22:39] There was no rioting.

[22:42] There was no looting. There were no cars

[22:44] set on fire. There was no violence.

[22:49] There were there were vigils and prayers

[22:54] and people coming together to share the

[22:56] humanity. And and that ladies and

[22:59] gentlemen I believe is the answer to

[23:01] this. We can return violence with

[23:03] violent violence. We can return hate

[23:05] with hate. And that's the problem with

[23:08] meta with political violence is it

[23:10] metastasizes

[23:12] because we can always point the finger

[23:14] at the other side.

[23:16] And at some point we have to find an

[23:19] offramp or it's going to get much much

[23:21] worse.

[23:23] But see, these are choices that we can

[23:25] make.

[23:28] History will dictate if this is a

[23:30] turning point for our country.

[23:34] But every single one of us gets to

[23:36] choose right now if this is a turning

[23:38] point for us.

[23:41] We get to make decisions. We have our

[23:44] agency.

[23:47] And I desperately call on every

[23:49] American, Republican, Democrat, liberal,

[23:52] progressive, conservative, MAGA, all of

[23:55] us to please, please, please

[24:00] follow what Charlie taught me.

[24:04] I I'll just I'll just conclude with uh

[24:07] with words I share often from a friend,

[24:10] an author you've all livein, who was

[24:12] asked if he was optimistic about our

[24:14] country. And uh he said I'm not

[24:17] optimistic. He said I hate optimism.

[24:19] Like ah that sounds bad. Uh but but he

[24:22] said he said optimism

[24:25] is a vice. It's this idea that good

[24:28] things are just going to happen. And he

[24:31] said in the history of the world good

[24:32] things have never just happened.

[24:36] He says I'm not optimistic but I am

[24:38] hopeful. And hope is the virtue that

[24:42] sits between the vices of optimism and

[24:44] pessimism. Hope is the idea that good

[24:48] things are going to happen because we

[24:51] can make them so.

[24:53] I still believe in our country and I

[24:56] know Charlie Kirk believed in our

[24:58] country. I still believe that there is

[25:00] more good among us than evil and I still

[25:04] believe that we can change the course of

[25:08] history. I'm hopeful because

[25:12] Americans can make it. So, ladies and

[25:15] gentlemen, we're happy to answer any

[25:16] questions you might have.

[25:16] >> Governor, can you please speak to

[25:18] whether the suspect is speaking with

[25:21] authorities and his demeanor

[25:24] when he turns in?

[25:25] >> Um, we I cannot speak to that right now.

[25:28] >> Governor, how

[25:31] do you interpret?

[25:37] Well, I will leave that up to you to

[25:38] interpret what those engravings mean. Um

[25:40] I I think the uh the clearest one that

[25:43] says catch fascist I there's not and by

[25:46] the way that's like catch like a ball,

[25:48] catch this. Um that's uh I think that

[25:51] that speaks for itself.

[25:53] [Music]

[25:59] Beyond that, is there anything in your

[26:01] view that you discovered that may have

[26:03] radicalized him?

[26:06] >> There there's nothing more that we can

[26:08] share at this time.

[26:09] >> Governor, you indicated that he had been

[26:11] communicating with a friend on Discord

[26:13] about the gun. Do you anticipate any

[26:16] more arrests?

[26:18] >> Uh, we do not at this time have any

[26:20] information that would lead to any

[26:21] additional arrests.

[26:22] >> You believe he acted alone?

[26:24] >> Yes, but the investigation is ongoing.

[26:27] Can you talk more about the family, what

[26:29] they had to say about the suspect,

[26:31] >> how he came into custody of police and

[26:34] where he is right now, Mr. Robinson?

[26:36] >> Uh, yes. So, right now, Mr. Robinson has

[26:38] been booked into the Utah County Jail.

[26:41] Uh you you heard the president this

[26:43] morning uh report that uh that he was

[26:47] taken into custody that uh that his

[26:49] family and uh and a friend um helped to

[26:53] uh to deliver him in to the the into

[26:56] custody of law enforcement in Washington

[26:58] County. For those of you that don't know

[26:59] where Washington County is, it is the

[27:01] southern most southwestern most part of

[27:03] the state of Utah. It's about a 3 and a

[27:05] half to four hour drive from here um

[27:08] where we are right now. And uh that's uh

[27:10] that's where where he lived and where he

[27:12] uh they they turned him in.

[27:13] >> Can you please talk more about what the

[27:16] family is saying about Tyler Robin?

[27:18] >> I I I can't share any more than what

[27:19] I've already shared.

[27:20] >> Yeah.

[27:23] Washington.

[27:26] >> So um we we how we obtained the gun. The

[27:29] gun was found was found here.

[27:34] >> Uh so so I I don't have much more

[27:35] details um on that. Um we we do know

[27:38] that uh that that he drove we had his

[27:41] car here um on on campus and then uh and

[27:44] then we had his car going going south

[27:48] back to back to the St. George. What?

[27:50] It's actually the city of Washington in

[27:52] uh in Washington County.

[27:53] >> Is he talking

[27:56] >> I'm sorry.

[28:00] >> We don't have any information that would

[28:01] lead us to believe that.

[28:03] >> Yes. Uh in fact it's already it was just

[28:05] released. Yes. authorities and did he

[28:08] discuss

[28:09] >> we um I I can't I can't answer that

[28:11] right now.

[28:12] >> Thank you.

[28:17] >> Do you feel this is

[28:20] American history?

[28:21] >> Uh I I absolutely believe that this is a

[28:24] watershed in American history. Yes. Um

[28:27] the question is what kind of watershed

[28:29] and that that chapter remains to be

[28:31] written. Is this the end of a dark

[28:33] chapter in our history or the beginning

[28:35] of a darker chapter in our history? We

[28:38] we've look I I mean if if you look at

[28:42] true political assassinations in this

[28:45] country of of someone of this stature um

[28:48] this feels a lot like the late60s um and

[28:51] and having one so gruesomely displayed

[28:55] uh on camera in all of our hands and in

[28:58] all of our pockets. We are not wired as

[29:01] human beings

[29:03] biologically

[29:05] uh historically we have not evolved uh

[29:10] in a way that um we are capable of

[29:14] processing those types of violent

[29:15] imagery. And by the way we've seen

[29:17] another one with a gruesome stabbing

[29:19] very recently that went viral. Um this

[29:21] is not good for us. It is not good to

[29:24] consume. Um, social media is a cancer on

[29:27] our society right now and I would

[29:28] encourage again I would encourage people

[29:30] to log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a

[29:33] family member, go out and do good in

[29:34] your community. Uh, there are pe that is

[29:37] happening and it's happening organically

[29:38] right now. Had a friend in a in a small

[29:40] city in Utah who said, "We're we're

[29:42] we're getting together. The Republicans

[29:44] and Democrats in my little town are

[29:46] getting together to have a discussion

[29:47] tonight uh last night um just to find a

[29:50] way to to to find their better angels."

[29:53] So, so yes, this this could be I I mean

[29:56] you you know, again, you have to go back

[29:58] to JFK to to have seen a video live of

[30:03] something like this happening. Um I

[30:05] wasn't born until 1975, but but I know

[30:07] that things were really dark in in the

[30:09] late '60s. Sorry to some of you. I know

[30:11] some of you were there. Uh but but th

[30:14] this is the this is our moment. Um do we

[30:17] escalate or do do we find an off-ramp?

[30:20] And uh again, it's a choice. It's a

[30:23] choice and every one of us gets to make

[30:25] that choice. Two more questions. Two

[30:26] more questions right here.

[30:28] >> Could we clarify that the release of

[30:30] those enhanced images at 8 p.m. that

[30:33] director Patel gave us led to the arrest

[30:35] at 10 p.m.? Is there a direct connection

[30:38] between those two events? I I cannot

[30:40] comment if there is a direct connection

[30:42] or not, but all I can say is that uh

[30:45] that that through some process the

[30:48] family

[30:49] came to know that this had happened.

[30:51] >> One more thing, Governor, could you just

[30:52] clarify the clothing issue you mentioned

[30:54] earlier, was he changing outfits?

[30:57] >> Correct. Yes. Yes. So, um, so when he's

[31:01] first spotted on campus, he has

[31:03] different clothing on and then he

[31:06] changes clothing on the roof and then

[31:09] changed back into that clothing at some

[31:11] point so that when when he was uh when

[31:13] he was apprehended when he when he was

[31:15] arrested, um, the clothing matched the

[31:17] clothing he had on before the shooting

[31:19] here at UVU. Last question here. Yes.

[31:22] >> Suspect from Utah. Can you tell us a

[31:25] little bit more about where and was he a

[31:27] student here at is there any history of

[31:29] mental illness?

[31:30] >> Yeah, so um I I I I don't have any

[31:34] information on the mental illness part.

[31:35] He was not a student here at UVU. Um he

[31:39] was living and uh and had lived for a

[31:42] long time with his family in uh in

[31:45] Washington County in the southernmost

[31:47] part of our states. Thank you everyone

[31:48] for um for your great work and getting

[31:50] this information out. Uh, I I just say

[31:52] process-wise, this may be important. I I

[31:54] know many of you aren't familiar with

[31:56] with the process in Utah. I I think it's

[31:58] important that you understand that. Um,

[32:00] basically um we have 3 days for uh

[32:03] charging documents to be filed. Uh a CI

[32:07] will be filed. We'll have more

[32:09] information then more detailed

[32:10] information as those charging documents

[32:12] are filed in in preparation for a

[32:15] preliminary hearing. So 3 days. So, you

[32:18] know, we would anticipate then that that

[32:20] early next week those charging documents

[32:22] will be filed. We will obviously be

[32:24] working the uh the county attorney will

[32:25] be working very closely with uh with Mr.

[32:28] Kirk's family as uh as those documents

[32:30] and decisions are prepared and made.

[32:32] Thanks everyone.