DNA evidence links the suspect in the assassination of conservative American activist Charlie Kirk last week to the scene of the crime, the director of the FBI has said.
DNA from a towel and a screwdriver recovered from the crime scene both match Tyler Robinson, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday.
Robinson, 22, was arrested by police on Thursday after a 33-hour manhunt for the killer.
“I can report today that the DNA hits from the towel that was wrapped around the firearm and the DNA on the screwdriver are positively processed for the suspect in custody,” Patel said in an interview on Fox News’s Fox & Friends.
Patel said Robinson had also expressed his desire to “take out” Kirk in a text exchange with another person, and had written a note detailing his plans to commit the crime.
Patel said the note had been destroyed, but investigators recovered forensic evidence of its existence at the home of Robinson and his romantic partner, who prosecutors have said has been cooperating in the investigation.
“We have evidence to show what was in that note, which is… basically saying… ‘I have the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it’,” he said.
Kirk, the CEO and cofounder of conservative youth activist organisation Turning Point USA and a close ally of US President Donald Trump, was shot dead last Wednesday during a speaking event at a university in Utah.
The killing of Kirk, a polarising figure who was lionised by conservatives and reviled by liberals, has provoked condemnation across the political spectrum, while drawing attention to deep political divisions in the United States and raising fears of further political violence.
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