The widow of prominent right-wing activist Charlie Kirk pledged Friday to carry on her husband’s work, after US authorities announced his alleged assassin had finally been captured.
Investigators had appeared to be making slow progress in the hunt for whoever gunned down Donald Trump’s close ally, until they released security camera images of a young man.
“We got him,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox told a press conference early Friday, identifying the suspect as Tyler Robinson, 22, who had reportedly been confronted by his father over the pictures and then turned in.
The 31-year-old Kirk was hit by a single bullet while addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University in the town of Orem on Wednesday.
Kirk was an electrifying presence on the US right, with a huge young following that helped Trump win the election last November.
A heartbroken Erika Kirk on Friday mourned the loss of “the perfect father…the perfect husband.”
“The evil-doers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said in a live video address.
“The movement my husband built will not die. It won’t. I refuse to let that happen,” she said.
Kirk’s murder has consumed America for 48 hours, capturing almost all cable news coverage, while Trump has ordered flags to fly at half-mast.
Kirk’s hardline views on race, gender, gun ownership, and other hot-button issues made him an intensely divisive figure, although even opponents praised his willingness to debate.
– ‘Definitely unexpected’ –
Details about Robinson began to trickle out Friday, as a picture emerged of a young man from a Republican family in St. George, a staunchly conservative city some four hours south of Orem.
“Who would have known that this little skinny guy getting in and out of his car would be able to commit such a heinous act?” Heather McKnight, a former neighbor who had recently moved out, told AFP.
Photographs showed the young man — who was in the third-year of an electrician apprenticeship — posing with guns and dressed for Halloween in a costume in which he appears to be riding Trump’s shoulders.
“I always thought he would become a businessman or a CEO someday, rather than what I’m learning about him now,” said Jaida Funk, a 22-year-old who attended elementary and middle school with him.
“It’s definitely unexpected.”
Speculation swirled over markings that Cox said were found on unused bullet casings in the weapon Robinson is believed to have used.
One cartridge had “Hey, fascist! Catch!” written on it, while another featured “Bella ciao,” — a World War II-era Italian anti-fascist song that reports said had recently been repurposed in niche online circles.
Other cartridges were marked with symbols and wording that appeared to be from online gaming culture.