A suspect has been arrested in connection with the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, former President Donald Trump announced on Friday, marking a major breakthrough in an investigation that has intensified concerns about political violence in the United States.
The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah, was taken into custody in the state where the shooting occurred earlier this week on a college campus, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department immediately commented on the arrest. Officials in Utah said they planned to hold a press conference later Friday to provide more details.
The announcement came just hours after federal and state authorities had appealed to the public for help in locating the suspect, releasing additional photographs that suggested investigators were unsure of his whereabouts.
Kirk, co-founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, was shot once in what Utah officials have described as a targeted political assassination. The state’s governor condemned the killing as an attack on democracy.
