Charlie Kirk’s shocking death this week has already sparked a wave of conspiracy theories online — one of the wildest claims being that a man near Kirk at the time of the shooting looked strikingly like a Secret Service agent who once protected Donald Trump.
“Someone very close” turned him in
On Friday morning, speaking on Fox & Friends, President Donald Trump announced that the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s murder is now in custody. Multiple U.S. media outlets report that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson has been identified as the suspected killer, citing unnamed sources.
”I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody,” Trump said during the interview.
As previously reported, Trump told Fox News that “someone very close” to the suspect helped lead authorities to them. The president also expressed hope that Charlie Kirk’s killer faces the death penalty.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, Trump said, “Kirk was the finest person and he didn’t deserve this.”
The connection to Charlie Kirk struck a personal chord for Trump, who survived two assassination attempts just last year.
In July 2024, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed to the roof of a building near a campaign rally Trump was holding in Butler, Pennsylvania, and opened fire.
One of the bullets grazed the president’s ear, but Secret Service agents quickly shielded him from harm.
Drawing comparisons
Now, social media users are drawing comparisons between the security footage from Kirk’s fatal Utah event and images of the agents who once protected Trump.
“The guy behind Kirk sure looks familiar,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another added: “One of the guys making hand signals seconds before the shot looks awfully familiar.”
But fans were quick to set the record straight. “Not the same guy. The man in the Charlie Kirk video is his personal security guard and has traveled with him to multiple events,” one person clarified online.
The tragedy unfolded on Wednesday, September 10, at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was hosting an open-air debate.
“We heard a big loud shot, I saw a bunch of blood come out of Charlie, I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground,” Justin Hickens, who was approximately 60 feet from the shooting, told NBC News.
Ammo engraved with pro-trans message
In an official statement, the agency said: “Following the shooting, the individual jumps from a rooftop and flees the scene. Trace evidence collected includes shoe impressions, a forearm imprint, and a palm print. The shooter’s weapon and ammunition were recovered in a wooded area near the university.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, authorities recovered the rifle used in the attack – a .30 caliber bolt-action hunting rifle – in a wooded area near the campus, where the shooter is believed to have fled on foot.
Wrapped in a towel, the rifle was found with a spent cartridge still in the chamber – and three unspent rounds in the magazine – “ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology inside the rifle that authorities believe was used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk,” the WSJ reports.
Though officials have not released the exact wording of the engravings, multiple outlets report they appear to indicate a politically or socially motivated message.
The security at the event have also been under intense scrutiny. Only six police officers were on duty at the debate, according to Utah Valley University Chief of Police Jeff Long, who confirmed that Kirk also had a personal security team present.
“You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today, we didn’t. Because of that, we have this tragic incident,” Long said at a Wednesday press conference.
