Kash Patel Confirms DNA Evidence Match in Kirk Assassination, Reveals Details of Note

The FBI director said the suspect wrote that he had the ‘opportunity to take out’ Kirk and was ‘going to take it.’

A police mugshot of Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, in this photo released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on Sept. 12, 2025. Utah Department of Public Safety/Handout via Reuters

DNA evidence matching that of Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer was found at the crime scene, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sept. 15.

Tyler Robinson, the suspect arrested for the Sept. 10 assassination of the conservative Christian influencer at Utah Valley University, also left a note expressing that he had an opportunity to kill Kirk, Patel said.

In a Sept. 15 interview with Fox News, Patel said, “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 also referred to reports of an alleged note left behind by Robinson, saying that the suspect wrote that he had the “opportunity to take out” Kirk and wrote, “I’m going to take it.” That message was written before the Sept. 10 shooting, he said.

Patel said that it was both a “note” and a “text message exchange,“ adding that it was ”destroyed“ but that investigators recovered it. Other evidence in the case, Patel said, was ”shocking,” although he didn’t go into more detail.

Touching on a possible ideologically based motive, Patel said that Robinson’s family said that he “subscribed to left-wing ideology,” echoing a statement made by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox during several Sept. 14 interviews about the suspect’s viewpoints.

Cox confirmed that Robinson was in a “romantic relationship” with a transgender individual who was also his roommate. That individual is cooperating with federal officials, although Robinson is not, Cox has said.

“Friends have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture, and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep,” the governor said.

He added that Robinson’s “roommate was a romantic partner, a male transitioning to female.”

“I can say that [the roommate] has been incredibly cooperative, this partner has been very cooperative, had no idea that this was happening,” Cox said.

Cox previously said that the suspected killer had engraved messages containing anti-fascist viewpoints on bullets that were recovered by authorities. Court records and Cox said that one bullet casing had the message: “Hey, fascist! Catch!”

The update comes as the Utah County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The Epoch Times on Sept. 14 that Robinson was moved to a “special watch” area in the jail facility, but added that there is no evidence to suggest that he wants to kill himself.

Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to bring more young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics as effective influencers, and he was a confidant of President Donald Trump. Nationwide, vigils were held, including one on the night of Sept. 14 at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, became prominent in part through his campus speaking tours. He was shot on Sept. 10 while answering a question at the college in Orem, Utah.

Speakers at the Kennedy Center included White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), White House adviser Stephen Miller, and two House members whose remembrances of Kirk were briefly stalled when they teared up.

“I had a conversation once with Charlie. We were talking about the danger that we were both challenging entrenched interests, and he asked if I was scared of dying. And I said, ‘There’s a lot worse things than dying,'” Kennedy said.

With Kirk’s death, Kennedy said that now “it’s our job” to “win this battle for our country.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.