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

[00:17] The worst possible

[00:25] [Music]

[00:29] uh

[00:49] [Applause]

[00:55] 24 hours.

[01:06] [Applause]

[01:27] in Perfect.

[01:56] He will not be on camera.

[02:02] [Applause]

[02:11] Sorry.

[02:31] >> I don't know.

[02:48] flight.

[03:00] Yeah.

[03:21] Just try not to bounce too hard.

[03:43] I didn't know it. I'm one of our staff.

[03:46] >> Yeah.

[03:53] >> Yeah. Sorry.

[03:56] Wow.

[04:06] of course.

[04:25] Sorry.

[04:26] I never

[04:36] >> Yeah. Like

[04:46] Actually,

[04:55] last time I had it.

[05:11] Honestly,

[05:24] someone

[05:47] sometimes

[06:02] yesterday morning.

[06:13] Let's

[06:24] talk about St. George.

[06:29] [Applause]

[07:14] [Applause]

[07:17] morning. He said that

[07:33] Foreign

[07:39] [Applause]

[08:01] [Music]

[08:15] You guys are

[08:29] big.

[08:59] Do a quick mic check again if you guys

[09:01] need

[09:04] Check. One, two.

[09:07] Check. One, two. Check. Mike. Check. 1 2

[09:09] 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. 1 2 3 4 5 6. We're

[09:13] hoping to get at least a 3minut warning

[09:15] when they start walking, but we haven't

[09:17] got that yet. So,

[09:19] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Everybody good?

[09:24] 1 2 3 4 5 6. Good.

[10:18] You're Right.

[10:49] on that. But we'll do our

[11:58] Okay. Okay.

[21:28] [Applause]

[21:30] Check. One, two, mic. Check. 1 2 3 4 5 6

[21:33] 7 8 9 10. Mike. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.

[21:38] Check. One, two, one, two, three, four.

[28:13] Hello. Hello. Testing, testing. Hi

[28:15] everyone. We are four minutes out from

[28:17] starting the press conference. Thank

[28:18] you.

[36:55] question.

[38:47] Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

[38:50] At today's press conference, we will

[38:53] hear from Governor Cox,

[38:55] FBI Director Cash Patel,

[38:58] and Sheriff Mike Smith. We also have

[39:01] with us Utah DPS Commissioner Bo Mason,

[39:05] Lieutenant Governor Dedra Henderson,

[39:08] FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert BS,

[39:11] and local and federal law enforcement

[39:13] partners. Following the remarks today,

[39:16] Governor Cox, Director Patel, and

[39:18] Commissioner Mason will take questions.

[39:20] Thank you.

[39:42] Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We

[39:45] got him.

[39:46] On the evening of September 11th, a

[39:49] family member of Tyler Robinson reached

[39:51] out to a family friend who contacted the

[39:54] Washington County Sheriff's Office with

[39:56] information that Robinson had confessed

[39:59] to them or implied that he had committed

[40:01] the incident. This information was

[40:03] relayed to the Utah County Sheriff's

[40:05] Office and scene investigators at Utah

[40:07] Valley University. This information was

[40:10] also conveyed to the FBI. Investigators

[40:13] reviewed additional f video footage from

[40:16] UVU surveillance and identified Robinson

[40:19] arriving on UVU campus in a gray Dodge

[40:21] Challenger at approximately 8:29 a.m. on

[40:25] September 10th in which he is observed

[40:28] on video in a plain maroon t-shirt,

[40:30] light colored shorts, a black hat with a

[40:33] white logo, and light colored shoes.

[40:36] When encountered in person by

[40:37] investigators in Washington County on

[40:39] September 12th in the early morning

[40:40] hours, Robinson was observed in

[40:43] consistent clothing with those

[40:45] surveillance images. Investigators

[40:48] interviewed a family member of Robinson

[40:50] who stated that Robinson had become more

[40:52] political in recent years. The family

[40:55] member referenced a recent incident in

[40:57] which Robinson came to dinner prior to

[40:59] September 10th. And in the conversation

[41:02] with another family member, Robinson

[41:04] mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to

[41:06] UVU. They talked about why they didn't

[41:09] like him and the viewpoints that he had.

[41:11] The family member also stated Kirk was

[41:13] full of hate and spreading hate. The

[41:16] family member also confirmed Robinson

[41:18] had a gray Dodge Challenger.

[41:21] Investigators identified an individual

[41:23] as the roommate of Robinson.

[41:25] Investigators interviewed that roommate,

[41:28] who stated that his roommate, referring

[41:30] to Robinson, made a joke on Discord.

[41:33] Investigators asked if he would show

[41:34] them the messages on Discord. He opened

[41:36] it and showed several messages to

[41:38] investigators and allowed investigators

[41:40] to take photos of the screen as each

[41:42] message was shown by Robinson's

[41:44] roommate. These photos consisted of

[41:47] various messages, including content of

[41:49] messages between the phone contact name

[41:52] Tyler with an emoji icon and Robinson's

[41:55] roommate's device. The content of these

[41:58] messages included messages affiliated

[42:01] with the contact Tyler stating a need to

[42:04] retrieve a rifle from a drop point,

[42:07] leaving the rifle in a bush, messages

[42:10] related to a to visually watching the

[42:13] area where a rifle was left, and a

[42:16] message referring to having left the

[42:18] rifle wrapped in a towel. The messages

[42:22] also refer to engraving bullets and a

[42:25] mention of a scope and the rifle being

[42:28] unique. Messages from the contact Tyler

[42:31] also mentioned that he had changed

[42:34] outfits.

[42:37] I know there has been speculation as

[42:39] well as to uh the the writing on those

[42:43] casings,

[42:44] those those uh those bullet casings. And

[42:48] uh I believe we have that as well and I

[42:52] I will share that with you now.

[42:56] So the area north of Campus Drive Road

[42:59] where the suspect crossed over, you saw

[43:01] some of that in the video that we

[43:02] released last night consists of a grassy

[43:05] area with trees on the edge of the UVU

[43:07] campus. Investigators discovered a

[43:09] boltaction rifle wrapped in a dark

[43:12] colored towel. The rifle was determined

[43:14] to be a Mouser model 98 300 6 caliber

[43:18] 306 caliber bolt-action rifle. The rifle

[43:20] had a scope mounted on top of it.

[43:23] Investigators noted inscriptions that

[43:25] had been engraved on casings found with

[43:28] the rifle. Inscriptions on a fired

[43:31] casing read notices bulges capital O.

[43:36] What's this question mark? Inscriptions

[43:39] on the three unfired casings read, "Hey,

[43:42] fascist," exclamation point, "Catch

[43:44] exclamation point." Up arrow symbol,

[43:48] right arrow, and uh symbol, and three

[43:51] down arrow symbols. A second unfired

[43:54] casing read, "O Bella, Bellachow,

[43:57] Bellachchow, Chow, Chow." And a third

[44:00] unfired casing read, "If you read this,

[44:02] you are gay." L M AO.

[44:07] We are indebted to law enforcement

[44:12] across the state who has worked

[44:13] seamlessly together, local law

[44:15] enforcement, state law enforcement, and

[44:17] our federal partners with the uh with

[44:19] the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

[44:22] We're grateful for everyone who worked

[44:24] together in uh in in such a short amount

[44:26] of time to uh to find this person and to

[44:32] uh and to bring justice. I want to thank

[44:34] the public who has been so engaged

[44:36] reviewing uh reviewing videos, re

[44:39] helping us with uh sending in tips and

[44:42] uh helping us get to this point.

[44:45] I want to thank uh the uh the family

[44:48] members of Tyler Robinson who did the

[44:50] right thing in this case and were able

[44:53] to uh to bring him into uh to law

[44:55] enforcement as well.

[44:59] I especially want to thank the family of

[45:04] Charlie Kirk, Erica, um Charlie's

[45:07] parents, his children. I want us to be

[45:10] thinking of them as we bring justice in

[45:13] this case. Um they will be involved in

[45:16] that justice. Uh we will be working very

[45:18] closely with them as we move through

[45:21] this process as well. This is a a very

[45:24] sad day for again for our country. a

[45:28] terrible day for the state of Utah, but

[45:31] I'm grateful that at this moment we have

[45:33] an opportunity to bring closure to this

[45:36] very dark chapter in our nation's

[45:38] history.

[45:39] With that, I will now turn the uh turn

[45:42] the microphone over to the director of

[45:44] the FBI, Cash Patel.

[45:50] >> Thank you, Governor.

[45:52] This is what happens when you let good

[45:54] cops be cops.

[45:56] The FBI and our partners are proud to

[45:58] stand here today together to bring

[46:00] justice to the family of Charlie Kirk

[46:02] and honor his memory. I want to express

[46:04] my deep gratitude to President Trump,

[46:06] the Vice President, and the entire White

[46:08] House who have been so incredibly

[46:09] supportive with both resources and just

[46:11] personally to the FBI as a team. They

[46:14] had our backs the entire way. And I just

[46:16] want to express my gratitude for giving

[46:17] us the resources we need to operate in

[46:20] this space to bring this sort of justice

[46:22] at this sort of speed. In 33 hours, we

[46:26] have made historic progress for Charlie.

[46:29] Governor Cox, our partnership has been

[46:33] absolutely incredible these last few

[46:35] days. Our partnership will endure. Your

[46:38] state and local partners, your sheriffs,

[46:40] your DPS community has been unbelievably

[46:43] impressive in the hardest of times. In a

[46:46] case like this cannot be solved, cannot

[46:48] be brought without partnering with your

[46:50] state and local authorities. The FBI has

[46:52] a certain role to play and we will play

[46:54] that role. Um, and we will lead out for

[46:56] the federal government. But Governor

[46:57] Cox, we are so grateful for your state

[46:59] partnership that led out on this

[47:01] investigation.

[47:02] A little bit of the timeline.

[47:05] Charlie was shot at 12:23 p.m. on

[47:07] Wednesday. The first FBI agents on

[47:10] arrived on scene in 16 minutes with

[47:13] chiefs of police at 12:39 and secured

[47:16] the scene. The FBI immediately launched

[47:19] fixedwing assets. We utilize these

[47:22] assets to transport personnel, specialty

[47:24] technicians, hostage rescue teams. We

[47:26] also utilize these assets to go back and

[47:28] forth from the east coast and here in

[47:30] Utah to transport forensic evidence and

[47:32] other evidence that will be analyzed and

[47:34] is being analyzed at our FBI

[47:36] laboratories in Quantico and other

[47:37] laboratories, including the ATF.

[47:40] At my direction, the FBI released the

[47:42] first set of FBI photos of the suspect

[47:44] at 10 a.m. local time on 911. Then

[47:49] shortly thereafter, the FBI reward of

[47:51] $100,000 was released at 10:45 a.m.

[47:54] local.

[47:56] Myself and Deputy Director Bonino

[47:58] arrived on the scene at approximately

[47:59] 5:30 p.m. on 911.

[48:02] The governor led a press conference last

[48:04] night at approximately 8:00 p.m. where

[48:08] at my direction, the FBI released a

[48:10] never-before-seen video of the suspect.

[48:13] We also released new images to the

[48:16] public of the suspect.

[48:19] And just last night,

[48:21] the suspect was taken into custody at 10

[48:23] p.m. local time.

[48:25] In less than 36 hours, 33 to be precise,

[48:30] thanks to the full weight of the federal

[48:32] government and leading out with the

[48:34] partners here in the state of Utah and

[48:36] Governor Cox, the suspect was h

[48:38] apprehended in historic time period. And

[48:41] I want to highlight what Governor Cox

[48:42] said. This would not have been possible

[48:44] without you, the media, and you, the

[48:46] public. That's why we went so public, so

[48:48] fast, and we're so transparent, and

[48:50] we're committed to that transparency.

[48:53] The crime scene, just a little bit

[48:55] there, it is a large crime scene. State

[48:57] and local authorities along with federal

[48:59] authorities processed that crime scene

[49:01] quickly, and I even had the um

[49:06] ability to walk through that crime scene

[49:09] and walk through the steps the suspect

[49:12] took. to learn more about what was

[49:14] needed and what resources we needed to

[49:15] breer to create a full picture for the

[49:17] FBI and leadership back in Washington.

[49:20] Furthermore, thankfully to state and

[49:22] local partners, forensic evidence has

[49:24] been seized and continues to be

[49:26] garnered. Forensic evidence has already

[49:28] been evaluated at FBI laboratories in

[49:30] Quantico and state local authorities

[49:31] here. We will continue to process

[49:33] evidence as we see it, as we collect it,

[49:36] and we will continue to deliver to

[49:37] Governor Cox and his team.

[49:40] Last night, we had a total of

[49:41] approximately 7,000 interviews, excuse

[49:43] me, 7,000 leads. As of this morning,

[49:46] thanks to your great work, we have over

[49:49] 11,000 leads that were called in to the

[49:52] FBI, and we are running out every single

[49:54] lead that we can.

[49:56] Every one of those leads will be run

[49:58] out.

[49:59] The arrest is a testament to the

[50:01] dedication of good law enforcement being

[50:03] great and partnerships in law

[50:06] enforcement, which I've tried to

[50:07] highlight as my tenure as the director

[50:08] of the FBI. There is no better

[50:11] relationship for law enforcement than

[50:13] the FBI to partner with state and local

[50:15] authorities. And you've seen it here in

[50:17] these last few days. The FBI Salt Lake

[50:20] Field Office along with our offices in

[50:22] LA, Phoenix, Denver, San Antonio, Las

[50:24] Vegas, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, our

[50:26] headquarters component in Quantico all

[50:28] participate in the FBI. I want to

[50:30] express my deep gratitude to the

[50:32] employees of the FBI, the men and women,

[50:36] the evidence response team tacticians,

[50:37] the special operators, the agents, the

[50:40] support staff.

[50:42] You have done monumental work in

[50:44] historic time

[50:46] when the public who had a right to

[50:49] demand such an expeditious

[50:51] solving of an investigation.

[50:54] The FBI answered that call diligently.

[50:58] Critically important to our nation and

[51:00] we delivered. And I'm proud to be their

[51:02] leader and I'm proud to be the director

[51:03] of the FBI.

[51:05] This is a very much an ongoing

[51:07] investigation as the governor said and

[51:09] we will continue to work with state and

[51:10] local authorities uh to develop the

[51:12] investigation to provide them the

[51:14] evidence they need for their ongoing

[51:16] prosecutions and we will be here to

[51:18] answer every call they absolutely have

[51:20] as long as it takes for as long as we

[51:23] need to find and apprehend whatever

[51:24] suspects were involved in this crime.

[51:29] Lastly,

[51:31] to my friend Charlie Kirk,

[51:35] rest now, brother. We have the watch.

[51:38] And I'll see you in Valhalla.

[51:47] Thank you. And good morning. I would

[51:50] just like to take a few minutes as as

[51:53] the sheriff to express my gratitude for

[51:56] everybody who has played a part in this

[51:58] investigation.

[52:00] As you know, it's been a vast a

[52:02] complicated and a very very fast-paced

[52:05] investigation. You're looking at people

[52:07] standing up here who are running on if

[52:10] they got an hour sleep in the last

[52:12] couple days, they're probably lucky. Um

[52:15] it has been very taxing. It has been so

[52:18] impressive speaking on behalf of the

[52:21] local law enforcement

[52:24] to see the cooperation that we have seen

[52:26] in this type of case. Uh across the

[52:29] state, sheriffs, chiefs, um our our

[52:33] state partners have stepped up and have

[52:35] come to the call on anything that we

[52:37] needed. Uh our county chiefs have been

[52:40] phenomenal.

[52:41] Our Utah County Attorney, Jeff Gray,

[52:44] who's standing up here with us, has been

[52:46] phenomenal in leading us through this

[52:48] investigation.

[52:50] I would like to thank the federal

[52:51] government for for their resource, their

[52:55] assets. Our local team here, our FBI

[52:57] team has been extraordinary in helping

[53:00] us work through this and bring this

[53:02] person to justice.

[53:06] Most of all,

[53:08] I would like to thank the public and

[53:11] specifically

[53:13] I would like to thank the public who

[53:15] turned to prayers and who turned to

[53:19] positiveness for us. I would like to

[53:22] thank them on behalf of the law

[53:23] enforcement community because we needed

[53:25] those prayers. That's what we needed to

[53:27] get through this. We needed your support

[53:29] and you gave it to us. We needed your

[53:32] patience and you gave it to us. And I

[53:34] would like to thank you for the Kirk

[53:36] family because that's what they need is

[53:38] your support and your prayers and that

[53:40] will get us through all of this. So,

[53:44] thank you everybody for everybody that

[53:46] have stepped up. We've had such a

[53:47] phenomenal response to this. Thank you.

[53:55] I also want to give a special thanks to

[53:58] the attorney general and the department

[53:59] of justice. Their unwavering support and

[54:02] their commitment to justice is shown

[54:05] true here. And without AG Bondi and

[54:08] Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch and

[54:09] the resources they brought to bear, we

[54:11] would not have been able to complete our

[54:12] mission. And I just want to say special

[54:14] thanks. It's an honor to be a part of

[54:15] the Department of Justice.

[54:20] >> Thank you again uh to our incredible law

[54:22] enforcement team who has worked so hard.

[54:24] Um, Sheriff, I got a solid 90 minutes

[54:27] last night, so I'm probably the most

[54:28] well-rested person up here. Uh, ladies

[54:31] and gentlemen,

[54:33] I uh I get the microphone, so I hope

[54:36] you'll permit me a moment just to share

[54:39] a few more thoughts about where we are

[54:41] and and how we got here and and uh and

[54:44] maybe a little bit of where we go from

[54:46] here. Um, I I don't want to get too

[54:49] preachy, but I think it's important that

[54:51] we with eyes wide open understand what

[54:54] what's happening in our our country

[54:56] today.

[54:58] I' I've heard I've heard people say,

[55:00] "Well, why are we why are we so invested

[55:03] in this? There's violence happening all

[55:06] across our country and violence is

[55:09] tragic everywhere and every life taken

[55:12] is is a child of God um who deserves our

[55:16] love and respect and dignity. This is uh

[55:19] this is certainly about the uh the

[55:22] tragic death assassination political

[55:25] assassination of of Charlie Kirk. Um,

[55:29] but it is also much bigger than an

[55:32] attack on an individual. It is an attack

[55:36] on all of us. It is an attack on the

[55:40] American experiment. It is it is an

[55:42] attack on our ideals.

[55:46] This cuts to the very foundation of who

[55:50] we are, of who we have been, and uh and

[55:54] who we could be in better times.

[55:58] Political violence is different than any

[56:00] other type of violence

[56:02] for for lots of different reasons. one

[56:04] because in the very act that Charlie

[56:08] championed of expression

[56:11] that freedom of expression that is

[56:13] enshrined in our founding documents in

[56:16] in having his life taken in that very

[56:20] act

[56:21] makes it more difficult for people to

[56:24] feel like they can share their ideas

[56:27] that they can speak freely. We will

[56:30] never be able to solve all the other

[56:32] problems including the violence problems

[56:33] that people are are worried about if we

[56:36] can't have a clash of ideas safely and

[56:39] securely

[56:40] even especially especially those ideas

[56:44] with which you disagree.

[56:46] That's why this matters so much.

[56:53] Over the last 48 hours, I have been as

[56:56] angry as I have ever been,

[57:00] as sad as I have ever been.

[57:05] And

[57:07] um it was uh as as as anger pushed me to

[57:11] the brink, it was actually Charlie's

[57:14] words that pulled me back. I'd like to

[57:16] share some of those. And specifically

[57:19] right now, if I could, I I need to talk

[57:21] to the young people in our state, in my

[57:23] state, and and all across the country.

[57:28] As President Trump reminded me, he said,

[57:30] "You know who who really loved Charlie?

[57:32] The youths." He's right. Um, young

[57:36] people love Charlie. And young people

[57:39] hated Charlie.

[57:42] And Charlie went into those places

[57:45] anyway.

[57:47] And these are the words that have helped

[57:50] me.

[57:52] Charlie said, "When people stop talking,

[57:56] that's when you get violence."

[57:59] He said, "The weak can never forgive.

[58:01] Forgiveness is the attribute of the

[58:03] strong. The only way out of the

[58:06] labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.

[58:10] Welcome without judgment. Love without

[58:12] condition. Forgive without limit."

[58:16] He said, "Always forgive your enemies.

[58:19] Nothing annoys them so much."

[58:22] A few months ago, I referenced this last

[58:24] night, Charlie posted to social media,

[58:26] "When things are moving very fast and

[58:28] people are losing their minds, it's

[58:30] important to stay grounded. Turn off

[58:32] your phone, read scripture, spend time

[58:36] with friends, and remember, internet

[58:38] fury is not real life. It's going to be

[58:41] okay.

[58:44] He again said, "When you stop having a

[58:45] human connection with someone you

[58:47] disagree with, it becomes a lot easier

[58:49] to commit violence."

[58:52] He said, "What we as a culture have to

[58:54] get back to is being able to have a

[58:57] reasonable agreement. Being able to have

[59:00] reasonable agreement where violence is

[59:02] not an option." Now again to my young

[59:07] friends out there,

[59:09] you are inheriting a country where

[59:13] politics

[59:15] feels like rage.

[59:17] It feels like rage is the only option.

[59:22] But through those words, we have a

[59:24] reminder

[59:26] that we can choose a different path.

[59:30] Your generation has an opportunity to

[59:32] build a culture that is very different

[59:34] than what we are suffering through right

[59:36] now.

[59:37] Not by pretending differences don't

[59:39] matter, but by embracing our differences

[59:42] and having those hard conversations.

[59:44] I I think we need more moral clarity

[59:47] right now. I hear all the time that

[59:50] words are violence. Words are not

[59:52] violence. Violence is violence.

[59:56] And there is one person responsible

[59:59] for what happened here and that person

[00:02] is now in custody

[00:04] and will be charged soon and will be

[00:07] held accountable.

[00:09] And and yet all of us have an

[00:12] opportunity right now to do something

[00:14] different. I I want to thank my fellow

[00:16] Utons. Uh

[00:20] you know, this bad stuff happens. Um and

[00:24] uh for for 33 hours, I was

[00:30] I was praying that uh that um if this

[00:34] had to happen here, that it wouldn't be

[00:36] one of us. That somebody drove from

[00:39] another state, somebody came from

[00:40] another country.

[00:45] Sadly, that that uh that prayer was not

[00:47] answered the way I had hoped for just

[00:50] because I thought it would make it

[00:51] easier on us if we could just say, "Hey,

[00:53] we don't do that here." Um and indeed,

[00:56] Utah is a special place. We lead the

[00:58] nation in charitable giving. We lead the

[01:00] nation in service every year. Um but it

[01:04] did happen here

[01:06] and it it was one of us.

[01:10] But

[01:12] I I want you to look at how Utons

[01:15] reacted the last two nights.

[01:19] There was no rioting.

[01:22] There was no looting. There were no cars

[01:25] set on fire. There was no violence.

[01:29] There were there were vigils and prayers

[01:34] and people coming together to share the

[01:37] humanity. And and that ladies and

[01:40] gentlemen I believe is the answer to

[01:42] this. We can return violence with

[01:44] violent violence. We can return hate

[01:46] with hate. And that's the problem with

[01:49] meta with political violence is it

[01:51] metastasizes

[01:53] because we can always point the finger

[01:55] at the other side.

[01:57] And at some point we have to find an

[02:00] offramp or it's going to get much much

[02:02] worse.

[02:04] But see, these are choices that we can

[02:06] make.

[02:08] History will dictate if this is a

[02:11] turning point for our country.

[02:15] But every single one of us gets to

[02:17] choose right now if this is a turning

[02:19] point for us.

[02:22] We get to make decisions. We have our

[02:24] agency.

[02:28] And I desperately call on every

[02:30] American, Republican, Democrat, liberal,

[02:33] progressive, conservative, MAGA, all of

[02:36] us to please, please, please

[02:41] follow what Charlie taught me.

[02:45] I I'll just I'll just conclude with uh

[02:48] with words I share often from a friend,

[02:51] an author you've all livein, who was

[02:53] asked if he was optimistic about our

[02:55] country. And uh he said, "I'm not

[02:58] optimistic." He said, "I hate optimism."

[03:00] God, that sounds bad. Uh but but he said

[03:03] he said optimism

[03:05] is a vice. It's this idea that good

[03:09] things are just going to happen. And he

[03:12] said in the history of the world, good

[03:13] things have never just happened.

[03:17] He says, "I'm not optimistic, but I am

[03:19] hopeful." And hope is the virtue that

[03:22] sits between the vices of optimism and

[03:25] pessimism. Hope is the idea that good

[03:29] things are going to happen because we

[03:31] can make them so. I still believe in our

[03:35] country and I know Charlie Kirk believed

[03:38] in our country. I still believe that

[03:41] there is more good among us than evil

[03:44] and I still believe that we can change

[03:48] the course of history. I'm hopeful

[03:51] because

[03:53] Americans can make it. So, ladies and

[03:56] gentlemen, we're happy to answer any

[03:57] questions you might have.

[04:07] speak to that.

[04:17] >> Well, I will leave that up to you to

[04:19] interpret what those engravings mean. Um

[04:21] I I think the uh the clearest one that

[04:23] says catch fascist I there's not and by

[04:27] the way that's like catch like a ball,

[04:29] catch this. Um that's uh I think that

[04:32] that speaks for itself.

[04:47] there. There's nothing more that we can

[04:49] share at this time.

[04:58] >> Uh we do not at this time have any

[05:01] information that would lead to any

[05:02] additional arrests.

[05:05] Yes, but the investigation is ongoing.

[05:16] >> Uh yes. So, right now, Mr. Robinson has

[05:19] been booked into the Utah County Jail.

[05:21] Uh you you heard the president this

[05:24] morning uh report that uh that he was

[05:27] taken into custody that uh that his

[05:30] family and uh and a friend um helped to

[05:34] uh to deliver him in to the the into

[05:37] custody of law enforcement in Washington

[05:38] County. For those of you that don't know

[05:40] where Washington County is, it is the

[05:41] southern most southwestern most part of

[05:44] the state of Utah. It's about a three

[05:46] and a half to four hour drive from here

[05:48] um where we are right now. And uh that's

[05:51] uh that's where where he lived and where

[05:53] he uh they they turned him in. Please go

[05:55] here.

[05:58] >> I I I can't share any more than what

[06:00] I've already shared. Yeah.

[06:07] >> So um we we how we obtained the gun. The

[06:10] gun was found was found here.

[06:14] >> Uh so so I I don't have much more

[06:16] details um on that. Um we we do know

[06:19] that uh that that he drove we had his

[06:22] car here um on on campus and then and

[06:25] then we had his car going going south

[06:28] back to back to the St. George. What?

[06:31] It's actually the city of Washington in

[06:33] uh in Washington County.

[06:37] >> I'm sorry.

[06:40] >> We don't have any information that would

[06:42] lead us to believe that.

[06:44] >> Yes. Uh in fact it's already it was just

[06:46] released. Yes.

[06:50] We um I I can't I can't answer that

[06:52] right now.

[06:53] >> Yeah. Thank you.

[06:54] >> Over here.

[07:02] >> Uh I I absolutely believe that this is a

[07:05] watershed in American history. Yes. Um

[07:08] the question is what kind of watershed

[07:10] and that that chapter remains to be

[07:12] written. Is this the end of a dark

[07:14] chapter in our history or the beginning

[07:16] of a darker chapter in our history? We

[07:19] we've look I I mean if if you look at

[07:23] true political assassinations in this

[07:26] country of of someone of this stature um

[07:29] this feels a lot like the late60s um and

[07:32] and having one so gruesomely displayed

[07:36] uh on camera in all of our hands and in

[07:39] all of our pockets. We are not wired as

[07:41] human beings

[07:44] biologically.

[07:45] Uh

[07:47] historically we have not evolved uh in a

[07:51] way that um we are capable of processing

[07:55] those types of violent imagery. And by

[07:57] the way, we've seen another one with a

[07:59] gruesome stabbing very recently that

[08:01] went viral. Um this is not good for us.

[08:04] It is not good to consume. Um, social

[08:06] media is a cancer on our society right

[08:08] now and I would encourage again I would

[08:11] encourage people to log off, turn off,

[08:13] touch grass, hug a family member, go out

[08:15] and do good in your community. Uh, there

[08:17] are pe that is happening and it's

[08:18] happening organically right now. Had a

[08:20] friend in a in a small city in Utah who

[08:22] said, "We're we're we're we're getting

[08:24] together, the Republicans and Democrats

[08:26] in my little town are getting together

[08:27] to have a discussion tonight uh last

[08:29] night um just to find a way to to to

[08:32] find their better angels. So, so yes,

[08:35] this this could be I I mean you you know

[08:38] again you have to go back to JFK to to

[08:41] have seen a video live of something like

[08:44] this happening. Um I wasn't born until

[08:46] 1975, but but I know that things were

[08:49] really dark in in the late 60s. Sorry to

[08:51] some of you. I know some of you were

[08:52] there. Uh but but th this is the this is

[08:56] our moment. Um do we escalate or do do

[09:00] we find an off-ramp? And uh again, it's

[09:03] a choice. It's a choice and every one of

[09:05] us gets to make that choice. Two more

[09:07] questions. Two more questions right

[09:08] here.

[09:19] I I cannot comment if there is a direct

[09:22] connection or not, but all I can say is

[09:25] that uh that that through some process

[09:28] the family

[09:30] came to know that this had happened.

[09:38] >> Correct. Yes. Yes. So, um, so when he's

[09:42] first spotted on campus, he has

[09:44] different clothing on and then he

[09:47] changes clothing on the roof and then

[09:50] changed back into that clothing at some

[09:51] point so that when when he was uh when

[09:54] he was apprehended when he when he was

[09:56] arrested, um, the clothing matched the

[09:58] clothing he had on before the shooting

[10:00] here at UVU. Last question here. Yes.

[10:11] Yeah. So, um I I I I don't have any

[10:14] information on the mental illness part.

[10:16] He was not a student here at UVU. Um he

[10:20] was living and uh and had lived for a

[10:23] long time with his family in uh in

[10:26] Washington County in the southernmost

[10:27] part of our states. Thank you everyone

[10:29] for um for your great work and getting

[10:31] this information out. I I just say

[10:33] process-wise, this may be important. I I

[10:35] know many of you aren't familiar with

[10:36] with the process in Utah. I I think it's

[10:39] important that you understand that. Um

[10:41] basically um we have three days for uh

[10:44] charging documents to be filed. Uh a CI

[10:48] will be filed. We'll have more

[10:50] information then more detailed

[10:51] information as those charging documents

[10:53] are filed in in preparation for a

[10:56] preliminary hearing. So three days. So

[10:58] you know we would anticipate then that

[11:00] that early next week those charging

[11:02] documents will be filed. We will

[11:04] obviously be working the uh the county

[11:06] attorney will be working very closely

[11:08] with uh with Mr. Kirk's family as uh as

[11:10] those documents and decisions are

[11:12] prepared and made. Thanks everyone.