Charlie Kirk's assassination: Accused identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, criticised Kirk as 'full of hate'

The governor of Utah state on Friday named Tyler Robinson as the suspect in the killing of US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk after a massive manhunt.

"We got him," Governor Spencer Cox said as he identified Robinson at a press conference shortly after President Donald Trump revealed on Fox News that the suspected gunman had been found.

Cox said the arrest was made after one of Robinson's relatives contacted a friend, who then contacted the police.

The Utar Governor, citing a family member of Robinson, said the accused spoke negatively of Kirk.

"Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson who stated that Robinson had become more political in recent years," he said.

“In the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” the governor said.

Robinson at the dinner said “Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate,” according to the relative’s account related by Cox.

He further told that Robinson’s roommate showed investigators messages on Discord, a group chat app, where Robinson talked about retrieving a rifle.

The roommate opened Discord and “allowed investigators to take photos of the screen as each message was shown by Robinson’s mate,” Cox said at the news briefing.

“The content of these included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler, stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel,” he detailed.

Cox further stated that anti-fascist slogans were inscribed on two of the unused bullet casings found after the fatal shooting. One cartridge had written on it, "Hey, fascist! Catch!", and another featured "Bella ciao," apparently a reference to a World War II-era Italian anti-fascist song, he said.

Trump first announced that Kirk had died from his wound, and on Friday it was Trump again who took to Fox News -- ahead of the press conference by law enforcement -- to say that the main suspect was in custody.

The 31-year-old was killed after being hit by a single bullet in his neck while addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University.

Kirk was an electrifying presence on the US far-right, with a talent for debate and a huge following that helped Trump build the youth vote in his election victory last November.

From the moment of the shooting, Trump has treated the event as a matter of top national importance.