Federal investigators revealed Friday that the rifle used in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk carried ammunition inscribed with anti-fascist messaging — a chilling detail that officials say sheds light on the shooter’s motive.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed the discovery during a press conference, noting that investigators found one used casing and three unused casings with engravings tied to anti-fascist ideology. The casings were recovered along with a bolt-action rifle near Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a campus event on Wednesday.
The information first surfaced in a preliminary Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) bulletin that circulated on social media Thursday, shared by commentator Steven Crowder. The document described a .30-06 caliber Mauser rifle with engravings expressing left-wing extremist messaging. Fox News Digital later confirmed the bulletin’s authenticity through multiple sources, while cautioning that the details were still preliminary.
By Friday, law enforcement had identified and arrested the suspected shooter as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah. FBI Director Kash Patel said it took just 33 hours from the time of the attack to bring Robinson into custody, calling the speed of the investigation “historic progress.”
Authorities credited a tip from one of Robinson’s family friends for leading to his arrest. The FBI had released a photo of a person of interest Thursday and offered a $100,000 reward for information.
Governor Cox described the assassination as a direct strike on America’s political fabric. “This is certainly about the tragic death, assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk, but it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual,” Cox said. “It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment.”
Kirk’s killing — and the disturbing details of ammunition engraved with extremist rhetoric — has reignited fierce debate about rising political violence in the United States.