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Utah Governor On Kirk Shooting Suspect: "We Got Him"; Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Is Interviewed About 22-Year-Old Suspect In Custody In Kirk Shooting. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 12, 2025 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER: Minimize the evidence although I think it's equally as important that he wore like a uniform to symbolize that this was a, you know, a very symbolic event for him.

[11:00:12]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Mary Ellen O'Toole, thank you so much.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Looks like he was planning a lot going into this assassination attempt at Utah Valley University. Had different clothes presumably because he wanted to escape after the assassination but we'll see how all of this unfolds. We're staying on top of this story. It's now the top of the hour. I want to update all of our viewers here in the United States and around the world on the breaking news that's just coming into The Situation Room.

Just minutes ago in Utah, confirmation that a suspect is now in custody in the killing of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SPENCER COX (R-UT): Good morning ladies and gentlemen, we got him. On the evening of September 11th, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: This right here is Tyler Robinson, the suspect. Police say he is 22 years old and lives in Utah. They say that he was not a student at that University where Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. And investigators confirm earlier reports that there were inscriptions on some of the bullet casings including, hey fascist, catch.

We are covering all the latest developments. CNN's Nick Watt was there for the news conference in Orem, Utah and CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller, is in New York. Nick to start with you lay out for us that all the new details we learned about the suspect now in custody because there was a lot of new information there. Nick can you hear me?

OK so I'm going to go to you John to talk about this information.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Pam. Yes. Sorry, sorry. I'm here.

BROWN: OK. Go ahead Nick if you would just fill us in on all this new information about the suspect.

WATT: OK. So the governor says he believes this suspect was acting alone. The suspect is now in the Utah County Jail. He would not be drawn on whether the suspect is cooperating and talking but of course everybody wants to know about that motive. And as we were just hearing that, hey fascist, catch. The governor drew attention to that engraving to say maybe that's all you need to know in terms of what the motivation was here.

You know we also heard that friends had said that Tyler Robinson over the past few years had become more political and just in recent days had said that he knew Charlie Kirk was coming here and he called Charlie Kirk a spreader of hate. Now, exactly how they managed to take him into custody, how they found him, Kash Patel the director of the FBI laid out a bit of a timeline. We saw some grainier images that were released of the suspect earlier yesterday then 8:00 p.m. local time last night there were enhanced images and video that were released.

Now prior to that, they'd had about 7,000 tips after those enhanced images were released. They got a further 4,000 tips. And at 10:00 p.m. he was taken into custody. Both the governor and Kash Patel were saying that this arrest could not have happened without the media and the public's help. So basically what we've seen here on the campus is they were gathering every scrap of video imagery that they could possibly get from security cameras from people's doorbell cameras in the neighborhood where they say that the suspect fled and that is what it appears led them to this suspect or at least led to the father of the suspect recognizing his son and then making that phone call to a friend who then made the phone call to law enforcement officials that led to this arrest.

Now in terms of charges here in Utah they have three days to file charging documents. The governor insinuated that that will happen because, you know, there has been a question of are these going to be state charges, are these going to be federal charges. And the governor has said that they will seek the death penalty. The other thing the governor said is social media is a cancer log off. Pam?

BROWN: Yes.

BLITZER: Yes. And also the governor talked about why this case is different. He said, I want to address people's questions about why are we focusing so much on this case or is violence every day on all over the country, right. And you talked about, you know, how political violence is different and how this is an attack on the American experiment ideals that it cuts to the very foundation of who we are. That is what the governor said.

[11:05:09] And he -- he used that to explain why also this has been such a big deal. John Miller, to bring you in. There really is so much information over this past hour. Are you surprised by how quickly this has all come together?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Actually, not at all. Because having worked in fugitive cases like this, where you started out with a manhunt, where you didn't know who the man you were hunting was, and I can think off the top of my head, three significant cases that we had with the FBI in New York where went to bed that night with nothing at all. And in the middle of the night, a fingerprint came through, a DNA sample, a tip from a member of the public that put us onto the exact suspect.

These cases can drag out for days or weeks or months. In some cases, if you go back to the anthrax case for years. But they can also turn on a dime. And the strategy here worked, right? Immediately after the shooting, they had a suspect in custody. That suspect washed out. So then they began to do the video canvas and to push those pictures, and then they got clearer pictures and pushed more. And then they used the video to draw more viewers in to look at the pictures.

The idea is, when you have a suspect, you want that under the radar. You take the submarine under, you're probably not saying a lot, not doing press conferences, but when you don't, you are thumping that information and pushing it to the public on the idea of, we've got hundreds of investigators working on this, but how about millions by putting all the eyes in the community on that.

And that actually had real effect on last night when they pushed out the new pictures, got more attention to it, which caused a family member who probably already had suspicions to confront their son, to share that information with a clergy member, we are told by sources in the investigation who shared that information with law enforcement and drew them to that person. And that happened between 8 o'clock and 10:00 p.m. last night. So when I say turn on a dime, that's what I'm talking about.

BLITZER: Yes, it was really very, very speedy, relatively speaking, the fact that they got this information and that a lot of the information was coming in thanks to the decision by law enforcement to release these initial pictures and ask the public to respond. And family members and friends did respond with very specific, important information. And John, before I let you go, quick question. We heard from the governor that on Tuesday they would be filing the formal charges and there would be a document outlining all the evidence they have against this 22-year-old suspect, Tyler Robinson. Presumably in that document we'll learn a lot more about the information, the evidence that they have and the possible motive that was involved.

MILLER: Yes, that document is going to lay out all of their probable cause and that's going to be put in front of a state judge who's going to bound this over for trial. But we learned an awful lot today. We can expect to see all of that in the document. But I believe you are correct that now they will have time to refine that evidence, to refine that storyline and to add in additional things that they are learning now as they do searches of electronics, of where he lived, of the car that we'll probably learn when that document is filed.

BLITZER: And presumably according to all the reports we've seen in Utah, there is a death penalty for a case like this and they're going to try to make that case that this individual deserves the death penalty. Is that right? John?

MILLER: That's correct. And the death penalty, you know, in a murder in the first degree charge comes with aggravating circumstances. And as some of our experts, like former prosecutor Elie Honig said, this is a case that lends itself to those aggravating circumstances. So I believe that the governor's intent there was clear. Prosecutors may not start with that, but I believe that is the direction that they will go because of the particularly deliberate, motivated and heinous nature of this crime as an assassination.

BROWN: Yes, heinous indeed.

BLITZER: John Miller, don't go too far away. We're going to be getting back to you. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes, we have several CNN analysts here with us now. I want to start with Charles Ramsey, senior law enforcement analyst. Based on all the information that authorities laid out, does this seem like a slam dunk case to you? I know we're awaiting charges but -- but what we know so far. What do you think? Charles?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, first of all, I don't think there's any such thing as a real slam dunk. That's why you have to develop evidence that we processing a lot of information that they have and they'll present a very strong case. So if you want to refer to that as a slam dunk, but it'll certainly be a strong case that they will be able to present and -- and move forward with.

[11:10:06]

We've heard from a lot of analysts and I agree with every single one of them. And all those things jumped out at me. But there's one thing that hasn't been mentioned that I really hope we pay close attention to mess the comments that the governor -- that the governor made when he stepped back to the podium trying to lower the temperature on this whole thing.

I mean, you -- when you saw him for the first time, he was visibly angry at the time. And you could tell from his comments he was a totally different person today. And I think he's trying to set an example and I hope others pay attention to it. Personally, I've pretty much lost faith in our political leadership, both on Democratic and Republican side. But this gives me a little bit of hope that people are now starting to realize that all this charged rhetoric is causing problems.

And, you know, to find that off ramp, as he said, to be able to have political discourse without it turning into violence is a message that needs to be repeated over and over again. I lived through the 60s. I remember all those things. JFK, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, all assassinated during the 60s. That's on top of the Vietnam War and everything else that was going on at the time. This can spiral way out of control if we don't take control back. And we have to as a society.

And I just don't want to overlook that because everything else talked about is very important. But I think that's the message that needs to move forward because otherwise we're going to be back again talking about somebody else. And a tragedy that has taken place because of the amount of political violence that's occurring in this country right now is not acceptable. But we can change it. But we've got to change our attitude about it.

BLITZER: And I just want to remind our viewers, Chief Ramsey, you're the former police commissioner in Philadelphia, and I got to know you when you were the police chief here in Washington, D.C. so you understand what's going on. You have a lot of experience in this whole area. When -- when were told that this suspect actually confessed to a family member. How significant is that? You say it's not necessarily a slam dunk, but that sounds to me like a very, very significant piece of evidence if this family member is willing to confirm that, yes, the suspect confessed to me that he assassinated this individual.

RAMSEY: Well, it's definitely a critical piece of evidence. If he's cooperating now, certainly all those things matter. I just learned from experience, you don't take anything for granted. You continue to work the case. You continue to make sure that all the forensic evidence is -- is processed properly. You make sure that you continue to interview witnesses, that you gather information obtained from search warrants, all these kinds of things. It's not over until it's over. And I've learned that over the years that you just keep working it, keep working it and present as strong a case as possible.

So I'm certainly not saying that as weak or that all this evidence is not important. I'm just saying that as an investigator, you do not take anything for granted.

BLITZER: Yes, good point indeed. All right, Chief Ramsey, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes. Let's bring in former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams. Elliot, so we heard officials start to describe a better picture of who the suspect is. They said a family told family member to law enforcement that Robinson had started to become more political in recent years. What does that tell you about how they might try to build this case?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Not a lot. And here's why. What motive is not relevant at trial? It's certainly helpful, but what prosecutors will need to prove his intent. Simply, did he intend to commit the crime? Not really why he did it. Now, certainly his motive can come up at sentencing down the road. But the most important exercise here, and this is to echo everything Chief Ramsey had said a moment ago, really the goal is building the strongest case. What do you know for certain that links the person you think was on the roof to the person that was apprehended down in southwest Utah to the person that took that mug shot that's showing on the screen right now? And there are several pieces of incredibly compelling and useful evidence that will likely come up. Number one, you have the testimony of a number of compelling witnesses, family members, friends of the family and roommates, all of whom have personal proximity to this individual and can say, this is the guy, this is the shirt he owns, this is the Dodge Charger or Dodge Challenger he owns, and this is where we think he was on that given day. They have footprints and, you know, the arm print and so on, all of which that could be used to link this person to that place at that time.

You know, it as anecdotal matter, yes, of course, it seems like a slam dunk case and it seems very strong based on what you know, but it's really about establishing that chain. And I think that's what prosecutors are furiously trying to do right now, number one.

[11:14:58]

And number two, to the death penalty question. They are also digging through the record, I'm sure trying to establish what it is that elevates this from being simply a homicide, but to the quote, especially heinous kind of homicide that Utah law would require. That is one of the standards. Also, for instance, did he cause a grave risk of death to other people, which would also elevate it potentially under Utah law to a death penalty case.

So merely the fact that it happened isn't going to be enough to get a death sentence. But I know prosecutors are trying hard, certainly as the governor had said, to get there.

BLITZER: Yes, I know they want the death penalty. Very quick question, Elliot. From a legal perspective, in often in these kinds of cases when somebody -- someone is facing potentially the death penalty, they plead guilty and try to get some sort of plea agreement with the prosecution and maybe seek life in prison without the possibility of parole as opposed to the death sentence. What do you think?

WILLIAMS: That's certainly a possibility. Often prosecutors will, for lack of a better term, reward someone for pleading guilty, for accepting responsibility, but also saving the prosecutors and the state and quite frankly the family the trauma of months and months and months of reliving a case. Now that's a decision prosecutors are going to have to make because I know a lot of people in the public, starting with the governor of Utah, regard the death penalty here as the only fitting conclusion.

But it, you know, it may be in both his interests and the states to agree to it. That's something based on what the prosecutors determined that they have that they're willing to go forward to trial with and left to make that decision soon.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Elliot, standby. We'll get back to you as well. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Utah. He's outside the prison where this 22-year-old suspect is now being held. Set the scene over there for us, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the Utah County Jail. We are about nine miles south of the University crime scene. And this is where in the overnight hours the -- the suspect was brought here overnight from, presumably from southern Utah, so quite a distance covered in the overnight hours. We were trying to gather more information on just exactly the conditions, how he's being held and -- and what is the scenario inside the jail for this suspect at this particular moment.

But we also know that this is where he will be at least until the preliminary court hearings. And what we're learning is that it probably won't be until early next week here in Utah. The governor pointed out in the press briefing that there are three days before filing documents can be -- can be filed. They have up to that amount of time, so they're probably looking at early next week before there's any kind of preliminary court hearing. So the suspect will be inside the jail here in -- in the Utah county jail until then.

And some distance, I believe, from the courthouse where he would be taken. And so I'm not exactly familiar if they would do this, make an appearance either over camera or if he would have to be moved from here to the county jail. Those are the kinds of logistical questions we'll be trying to figure out here in the hours and days ahead. But right now it's, you know, rather quiet scene. This is a rather large jail complex, and we know he is here now. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Ed, we'll stay in close touch with you as well. Pamela? BROWN: All right, I want to bring in retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Steve Moore. Steve, I want to get your take on these messages we learned about. We know investigators spoke to Tyler Robinson's roommate. The roommate showed them these messages on Discord with an account affiliated with the contact, Tyler, stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages relating to visually watching the area where a rifle was left and changing clothes and so forth.

Now, the governor said that at this point they do not anticipate making any more arrests in this investigation. Of course, it's so early. But what do you make of the suspect here seemingly messaging his roommate about this? STEVE MOORE, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Listen, when you talk drop point, drop point is a signal. Drop point is an action item. It's not just, oh, I have a rifle. There's more to this than meets the eye. And I would be astounded if this wasn't enough, based on at least what I'm seeing right now, for them to go forward in an investigation on this suspect. And I believe what's or this roommate. So I believe right now that they're certainly not walking away from it. They better be investigating this.

[11:19:40]

BLITZER: Good point indeed. All right, Steve, I want you to stand by. Everyone stand by. We're continuing to follow the major breaking news that we're following here in The Situation room. Stay with us. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: Breaking news, officials are still investigating the precise motive in the killing of conservative activist, Charlie Kirk, but say the suspect became more political in recent years and spoke negatively about Kirk to family. All of this is raising concerns from public officials about their safety. Joining us now to discuss is Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana. He is the former interior secretary during the first Trump administration and a former Navy SEAL commander. So, Congressman, I know that you knew Charlie Kirk personally.

REP. RYAN ZINKE (R-MT): Yes.

BROWN: What is your reaction now that there's a suspect in custody? And we just got a lot more information about that suspect.

ZINKE: You know, I'm glad there's a suspect in custody. But, you know, as a former SEAL, you know, I fought for Americans. I fought with Americans. I didn't fight against Americans. And, you know, you see the anger out there. You know, we're talking about town halls. And look, this is not a Republican or Democrat or independent issue. This is an American issue. You know, we should be able to agree and disagree, but let's not get disagreeable where we're -- where we're actively engaging in violence against each other.

[11:25:27]

This is, you know, the fabric of America and our foundation of what's important in this country. Freedom of expression, absolutely. But do it in a non-violent way. And certainly, you know, when you see so much going on in our society where anger and -- and hostility has resulted in the death of, you know, a fine young man who ironically delivered a message through words. He advocated no violence, but a message on intellect. It's a sad day.

BROWN: It certainly is. And since his killing, we've seen some members of Congress come together. I mean, frankly, we have, we've seen a lot of the calls for unity, but we've also seen others point fingers and we've also seen others in Congress sort of do the whataboutism and point to the other side to blame and so forth. As someone who risked your life to defend the country, do you think that politics irreparably damaged at this point or do you see a way forward?

ZINKE: Not irreparably, but remember, when you point, you've got four fingers pointing back at you. So again, this is -- this is not a Republican or Democrat. And I'm -- I'm asking, let's not point fingers, let's address the issue is that we need to be able to discuss issues as Americans. And there's a lot of problems, there's challenges in this country that the only way we're going to solve it is working together.

And I understand, I've seen Trump derangement syndrome. I've had great friends in my life with Trump presidency, have -- have left our circle of friends over a presidency. And it's just -- it's -- I ask everyone just to take a deep breath, right? Just get the anger out of the conversation and -- and maybe meet your neighbor. It would be very productive as a country. BROWN: Getting to just know one another as human beings.

ZINKE: Yes. You know, I have friends on both sides of the aisle. You know, we -- we -- we like to sometimes, you know, say it's a war and all these things. I've been to war and -- and -- and wars are brutal. But, you know, there's a lot more in common we have as a country than we do our differences. And I think we all want to solve homelessness, we all want to solve cancer, we all want to live in a country that delivers prosperity to everybody. We all want that. Approaches are a little different, so let's just go back to respect. This is a sad day, but am I an optimist? Yes, I think America is strong enough to recover.

BROWN: Do you feel safe right now as a public official?

ZINKE: Well, I'm a SEAL. We just talked about this. You know, for me, I do a lot of rodeos. I do a lot of radio. Just a hostility and anger about a town hall where people are coming not to discuss, but to disrupt, that's a problem. When I was secretary, you know, I -- I received death threats. This is 45 for myself, my wife, my family, even my dog. I have received death threats.

BLITZER: You were Secretary of Interior?

ZINKE: When I was Secretary of Interior. And some members don't, you know, feel safe. I still keep my head on the swivel. I'm hoping that -- that America just takes a deep breath and understands the course that this type of behavior leads us. It'll break the country apart and, you know, produce a lot of pain. You got to -- you reach out to obviously, you know, Charlie's family, his wife, his kids, and, you know, wonderful loving father, you know, loving husband.

BROWN: Just to follow up with you though, I mean, do you want to have more security? Are you rethinking how you're engaging with your constituents?

ZINKE: You know, it's a thought process because, you know, oftentimes when I'm on, you know, at some event, I'm also with family and my wife typically goes with me a lot of times. So it's her safety too that I think we're all going to take a look at it and maybe some events where you have uncontrolled. But, you know, I don't want to go there. I enjoy going home and -- and going to a local tavern and having a beer.

BROWN: It's a foundational part of being a politician, right, engaging with people.

ZINKE: Yes, because that's part of the job. If you don't like working for people, if you don't like meeting people, don't take the job because you do represent. So I think not being able to get out there and just saying hello, I think is an erosion of what's important in this country about a representative democracy.

[11:29:45]

BLITZER: This 22-year-old suspect, Congressman, had a pretty sophisticated weapon. This rifle was very -- if he -- if he was aiming from what's about 200 yards away from a rooftop, it was pretty sophisticated. And I keep getting this question from our viewers out there. They keep asking, is it time for some serious common sense gun control here in the United States, similar to what's going on in other democracies in Europe?