FBI Director Kash Patel on Sunday said that the law enforcement bureau is “meticulously investigating theories and questions” into the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The investigation will touch on “the location from where the shot was taken, the possibility of accomplices, the text message confession and related conversations, Discord chats, the angle of the shot and bullet impact, how the weapon was transported, hand gestures observed as potential ’signals’ near Charlie at the time of his assassination, and visitors to the alleged shooter’s residence in the hours and days leading up to September 10, 2025,” Patel wrote on X.
“Some details are known today, while others are still being pursued to ensure every possibility is considered. Our primary focus is to complete this investigation and deliver justice. To protect the integrity of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, we cannot release every piece of information we have to the public right now. We will ensure every question is addressed at the appropriate moment.”
Prosecutors began outlining their case against the shooting suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, last week, when he appeared in court via video feed from jail to face capital murder and other charges.
The details of the assassination and possible motive have taken on outsized importance given the political firestorm surrounding Kirk’s death. The attack has deepened fears about rising political violence and prompted President Donald Trump and other administration officials to say that they would take aim at radical leftist groups.
Kirk, 31, was killed by a single shot to the neck during a campus event at Utah Valley University that drew a crowd of about 3,000.
In a transcript of an alleged text exchange with his roommate, whom officials have said was also a romantic partner, Robinson said he had planned the attack for “a bit over a week.” Prosecutors are yet to offer much detail about his preparations.
Robinson’s mother told investigators his political views had moved leftward recently and he had become “more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” prosecutors said. Investigators said his roommate, who is cooperating with authorities, was “transitioning genders.”
According to transcripts of the exchanges in court filings, Robinson said he had killed Kirk because “I had enough of his hatred.” Kirk, an ally of Trump, co-founded and led a conservative group called Turning Point USA that was credited with helping Trump recapture the presidency in the 2024 election.
Prosecutors have not said which specific viewpoints of Kirk’s that Robinson found hateful, or whether his partner’s gender identity may have played a role. Utah County’s chief prosecutor, Jeffrey Gray, said last week that Robinson also had expressed pro-transgender viewpoints, according to family members.
Patel, in his post, also made reference to questions about an airplane that allegedly turned off its transponder tracking system that departed an airport near where Kirk was shot. He said that based on interviews with the pilot and information from the Federal Aviation Administration, officials found that the transponder wasn’t turned off, Patel wrote.
In testimony to Congress last week, Patel said that his office is looking into more than 20 other individuals who were in a Discord chat with Robinson.
A day after Robinson appeared in court, Washington County, Utah, Sheriff Nate Brooksby revealed that he was called by a retired law enforcement officer who had worked for him and knew Robinson’s family and was told that the Robinson family wanted to get the suspect to voluntarily surrender.
“Tyler knew it was just inevitable with all the law enforcement pressure that he, his picture in the news, the gun, the gun on the news,” he said in a news conference. “He knew it was inevitable … that he would be caught.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
