Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old in custody as the suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, registered to vote with no party affiliation and hadn’t cast a ballot in the two most recent elections.
But a family member told investigators that Robinson “had become more political in recent years,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said at a press conference Friday morning – and in particular had lashed out at Kirk, the family member said.
Authorities, who have described Kirk’s killing as a “political assassination,” discovered anti-fascist messages engraved on ammunition with a rifle near the site of the shooting that hint at that political transformation, Cox said.
Those messages included one that said, “Hey fascist! Catch!” and another that appeared to reference an Italian anti-fascist song.
Cox said that a family member of Robinson had told investigators that at a recent family dinner, Robinson had mentioned Kirk’s upcoming Utah Valley event, and “they talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” Cox said. “The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”
The bolt-action rifle Robinson used and left in a wooded area near the campus had various phrases engraved on the bullet casings, Cox said, including “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao ciao,” which appeared to reference an Italian anti-fascist song.
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