Tyler Robinson grew up among some of the most spectacular natural scenery in the United States.<\/p>\n
Washington, Utah, is a short drive from the stunning peaks and rock formations of Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, and about three and a half hours from Orem, where Charlie Kirk was shot on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
As a high school student, Robinson appears to have excelled. In 2021, he won a residential scholarship to study engineering at Utah State University, near Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n
But it didn’t last. The university confirmed Robinson dropped out of his pre-engineering course after just one semester.<\/p>\n
He returned home to Washington, where he took up an electrical apprenticeship at Dixie Technical College, living with his family.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tyler Robinson grew up in south-western Utah, close to the Zion National Park. (Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee)<\/p>\n
At the time of his arrest, the 22-year-old was in the third year of his apprenticeship, with no criminal record, the Reuters news agency reported.<\/p>\n
Like much of rural Utah, Washington is overwhelmingly white. And politically, it’s overwhelmingly red: in last year’s election, Donald Trump won more than 75 per cent of the vote there.<\/p>\n
Yet Robinson did not appear to be particularly political. He is registered to vote, but did not choose a party affiliation, as most registered voters in the US do.<\/p>\n
What’s more, he is listed as an “inactive” voter \u2014 meaning he did not vote in the last two general elections.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Police were seen outside a Washington, Utah, house linked to Tyler Robinson. (Reuters: Steve Marcus)<\/p>\n
But according to Utah Governor Spencer Cox, things had changed.<\/p>\n
“Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson who stated that [he] had become more political in recent years,” Cox told reporters on Friday.<\/p>\n
“The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to [the day of the shooting], and in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU [Utah Valley University].<\/p>\n
“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”<\/p>\n
When the first grainy images of the suspect were released on Thursday, it was Robinson’s father who recognised his son and confronted him.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tyler Robinson’s father reportedly recognised his son in images released by the FBI. (X: FBI Salt Lake City)<\/p>\n
He urged his son to turn himself in, a law enforcement source told the Associated Press<\/a>. Robinson refused at first, but then changed his mind.<\/p>\n “A family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend, who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident,” Cox said.<\/p>\n