WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah – An agency assisting in the investigation of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has released information surrounding the conditions of his surrender, the retired detective who helped coordinate with the sheriff’s office and the implication of people rumored to have connections to the shooter.
Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby started the news conference by clearing up false rumors surrounding a retired deputy.
“There was some initial news … that Matt Robinson is currently a deputy with the sheriff’s office and he physically put handcuffs on his son, the suspect, and brought him into jail. That’s completely false,” Brooksby said.
Brooksby stressed that a retired Washington County corrections deputy, also named Matt Robinson, has been wrongly linked to the case. The suspect’s father shares the same name, but the two are not the same person. He said the retired corrections deputy has faced harassment and even had to leave his home due to the confusion.
The call that set the surrender in motion
The sheriff went on to describe the manhunt for the suspect, Tyler Robinson, saying the hunt lasted 33 hours before he received a call from a retired Washington County detective. The caller told Brooksby that he knew who the shooter was, and he knew the family through “religious association.” The caller told Brooksby that Robinson was possibly having suicidal ideations, that the family persuaded him not to kill himself and that they were working to convince him to surrender peacefully.
Brooksby said he then immediately called Sheriff Mike Smith in Utah County and informed him that the suspect was in Washington County and that they were working to get him to turn himself in.
Within an hour, the retired detective who called in the tip drove Robinson and his parents to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, where he was greeted by detectives in plainclothes.
“Part of the deal is Tyler knew it was just inevitable with all the law enforcement pressure [and with] his picture in the news [and] the gun on the news, he knew it was inevitable that he would be caught. He was fearful of a SWAT team hit on his house or he was fearful of being shot by law enforcement,” Brooksby said.
Brooksby and the Washington County detectives and deputies held the suspect without interrogating him until federal and state law enforcement arrived. They secured Robinson’s parents’ homes, as well as the apartment where he was living.
Terms of a peaceful surrender
Brooksby said Robinson feared a SWAT raid or being shot by law enforcement and asked only that the surrender be handled gently. “The conditions were as relaxed and comfortable and almost to the point of … inviting,” Brooksby said.
“And [if] at the end of the day … we accomplish him surrendering peacefully on his own, [I’m going to] make some concessions to make that happen.”
Brooksby also addressed other questions about the surrender. He clarified that while the retired officer who turned
Robinson in was associated with the family by religion, he was not a leader in the church or a youth pastor. The sheriff also cleared the bishop of the LDS church the family attended of any involvement.
Brooksby said that he could not confirm any previous contact the sheriff’s office may have had with Robinson, but stated that Robinson’s residence was not in the office’s typical jurisdiction.
While Brooksby did not identify the detective involved in negotiating the surrender, he said that he had been out of the force for about three years. Prior to the surrender, the sheriff said they had no idea that the suspect was in Washington County.
Brooksby credited his retired colleague with helping prevent a violent confrontation.
“He deserves full credit,” the sheriff said. “The family trusted him, and he trusted me. That’s what allowed for a calm, safe surrender.”
