Patel Says FBI Processes Led Suspected Kirk Assassin’s Father To Act

FBI Director Kash Patel praised law enforcement’s swift coordination that led the father of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin to turn his son in last week.

“In partnership and promise to working with the public to bring this fugitive to justice, we released a new, never-before-seen video of the suspect; we also released new enhanced photos of the suspect,” Patel said in his opening statement before a Senate hearing Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill.

“A few hours later, that suspect was in custody pursuant to the interrogation of the suspect’s own father, who stated, ‘When I saw that video that you released, I recognized it was my son, and I confronted him’ – and he was handed over to lawful law enforcement authorities,” he added.

“That is the FBI working with the public, as I promised, being transparent and provided critical information along the way in the manhunt for the suspect or suspects involved in Charlie’s assassination.”

Patel said the FBI received more than 11,000 tips and 16,000 digital submissions within the first 24 hours of the investigation. He credited FBI field teams, laboratory staff in Quantico, and state and local authorities in Utah for their work in helping to arrest shooting suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah.

He also thanked President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and state officials for their support in the probe. “We cannot do our job without the American public,” he said.