Law enforcement officials arrested the man accused of shooting and killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah on Friday after a frantic 33-hour manhunt. The suspect’s fate now hinges on whether the state pursues capital charges as political pressure mounts.

Prosecutors have not yet filed charges against Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of killing Kirk after driving nearly four hours to Utah Valley University, where the longtime Trump ally was speaking. It also remains unclear whether they will seek the death penalty, a step publicly urged by both President Donald Trump and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. 

At a Friday news conference, Cox said investigators used surveillance footage from the stadium and tips from Robinson’s family and friends to identify him before the arrest. He also said charges would be filed ‘soon.’ 

‘We got him,’ Cox said. 

The governor vowed that Robinson would be ‘held accountable’ for Kirk’s death, which he called a ‘political assassination.’

‘This is certainly about the tragic death, assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk, but it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual,’ Cox said. ‘It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment.’ 

Kirk’s graphic death and the scant public information revealed in its wake have left the nation reeling and revived heated debate about political violence in the U.S. It’s also sparked a litany of questions about how prosecutors will bring the case against Robinson, with Utah law and years of precedent making capital punishment difficult to pursue. 

Robinson is being held at Utah County Jail. A probable cause affidavit reviewed by Fox News Digital lists potential charges including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious injury and obstruction of justice.

Utah law allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty only in cases where an individual is charged with ‘aggravated murder’ — or a murder that knowingly ‘created a great risk of death’ to another person besides the victim or defendant. The offense is listed in the affidavit, which could open the door for prosecutors to seek the death penalty. 

The clock is ticking: Utah law requires state prosecutors to file a specific notice of intent within 60 days after an individual is arraigned on aggravated murder charges to notify the court and defense attorneys that they plan to try the case as a capital felony. Doing so sets into motion a complex legal process — including a two-part, or bifurcated trial, to decide both guilt and whether the defendant should receive capital punishment. 

Otherwise, the case is tried under charges of a ‘noncapitalist fist-degree penalty,’ eligible for a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. 

Cox and Trump both suggested in interviews earlier this week that the state should seek the death penalty against Kirk’s killer, even before Robinson was named as a suspect. 

‘I hope he gets the death penalty,’ Trump said Friday morning on ‘Fox & Friends,’ calling Kirk ‘the finest person.’ 

The Beehive State is one of 27 states that still allows the death penalty, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. It’s also one of just five states where execution by firing squad remains legal.

Even so, capital punishment cases are rarely pursued in Utah. The state has carried out only two executions in the past 20 years, and inmates spend an average of 34 years on death row.

Only four men are currently on death row in Utah, each for ‘decades,’ according to KUTV.  

For Robinson, whose criminal trial will draw national attention, particularly from the president and his allies, it’s still far too early to predict the outcome. 

Already, Robinson’s case has fueled intense speculation — even as some lawmakers urged calm.

‘History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country,’ Cox said, ‘but every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us.’ 

When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, it took more than a decade before Americans saw the infamous Zapruder film.

Today, the killing of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk can be replayed in dozens of high-definition clips across social media, reshaping how the nation confronts political violence in real time.

‘You’ll never have an assassination again that we don’t have footage of,’ Tevi Troy, a presidential historian and former secretary of Health and Human Services under the Bush administration, told Fox News Digital. 

‘I have an image in my head of what Lincoln’s assassination might have looked like, but every assassination since the Kennedy era, or even assassination attempts, there’s generally going to be footage about it now, and that’s just a very difficult thing.’

The Zapruder footage of Kennedy’s assassination remained largely unseen by the public until 1975, when it aired on national television more than a decade after his death. Its grainy frames shocked viewers. Americans, at the time, were ‘much more dependent on what the caretakers of the culture would put on TV,’ Troy said, and if a broadcast was missed, there was often no second chance to see it. 

‘The gatekeepers controlled what you saw.’

In the minutes after Kirk was shot in the neck on his ‘American Comeback Tour’ at the Utah Valley University on Wednesday, graphic video clips captured by bystanders using phones flooded social platforms like X, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. 

Traditional outlets held back from airing the moment of impact, but social media users shared multiple angles — including real-time replays and slowed-down segments — many without content warnings or editing.

‘Desensitizing is the right word. … It’s not good for you,’ Troy said when asked what the impact of such high-speed graphic footage could do to the public. 

‘It’s not good for your soul. It’s not a question of not being available. It is available. Then you have to make an effort not to see it,’ he said.

Troy noted that in the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s killing, some voices on the left appeared to rationalize or downplay the violence, while others rushed to frame the suspect’s background in ways that minimized political fallout for their side. He called the reaction ‘a ghoulish exercise.’

‘There’s a horrible tragedy where this person who just wants to have political conversations was murdered with three young kids,’ Troy said. ‘But this is where we are today. If there is political violence, they want to make sure it’s framed in such a way that it doesn’t bring their side down.’

Kirk, 31, was killed Wednesday by suspected shooter Tyler Robinson while answering a question at Utah Valley University. He leaves behind his wife and two children, ages one and three. 

Law enforcement officials arrested the man accused of shooting and killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah on Friday after a frantic 33-hour manhunt. The suspect’s fate now hinges on whether the state pursues capital charges as political pressure mounts.

Prosecutors have not yet filed charges against Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of killing Kirk after driving nearly four hours to Utah Valley University, where the longtime Trump ally was speaking. It also remains unclear whether they will seek the death penalty, a step publicly urged by both President Donald Trump and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. 

At a news conference Friday, Cox said investigators used surveillance footage from the venue and tips from Robinson’s family and friends to identify him before the arrest. He also said charges would be filed ‘soon.’ 

‘We got him,’ Cox said. 

The governor vowed that Robinson would be ‘held accountable’ for Kirk’s death, which he called a ‘political assassination.’

‘This is certainly about the tragic death, assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk, but it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual,’ Cox said. ‘It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment.’ 

Kirk’s graphic death and the scant public information revealed in its wake have left the nation reeling and revived heated debate about political violence in the U.S. It’s also sparked a litany of questions about how prosecutors will bring the case against Robinson, with Utah law and years of precedent making capital punishment difficult to pursue. 

Robinson is being held at Utah County Jail. A probable cause affidavit reviewed by Fox News Digital lists potential charges, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious injury and obstruction of justice.

Utah law allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty only in cases in which an individual is charged with ‘aggravated murder’ or a murder that knowingly ‘created a great risk of death’ to another person besides the victim or defendant. The offense is listed in the affidavit, which could open the door for prosecutors to seek the death penalty. 

The clock is ticking. Utah law requires state prosecutors to file a specific notice of intent within 60 days after an individual is arraigned on aggravated murder charges to notify the court and defense attorneys that they plan to try the case as a capital felony. Doing so sets into motion a complex legal process, including a two-part, or bifurcated, trial to decide both guilt and whether the defendant should receive capital punishment. 

Otherwise, the case is tried under charges of a ‘noncapitalist fist-degree penalty,’ eligible for a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. 

Cox and Trump both suggested in interviews earlier this week that the state should seek the death penalty against Kirk’s killer, even before Robinson was named as a suspect. 

‘I hope he gets the death penalty,’ Trump said Friday morning on ‘Fox & Friends,’ calling Kirk ‘the finest person.’ 

The Beehive State is one of 27 states that still allows the death penalty, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. It’s also one of just five states where execution by firing squad remains legal.

Even so, capital punishment cases are rarely pursued in Utah. The state has carried out only two executions in the past 20 years, and inmates spend an average of 34 years on death row.

Only four men are currently on death row in Utah, each for ‘decades,’ according to KUTV.  

For Robinson, whose criminal trial will draw national attention, particularly from the president and his allies, it’s still far too early to predict the outcome. 

Already, Robinson’s case has fueled intense speculation even as some lawmakers urged calm.

‘History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country,’ Cox said. ‘But every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us.’ 

Turning Point USA has seen a massive surge in inquiries for new college chapters as the organization works to advance Charlie Kirk’s vision following his assassination last week.

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ said Sunday that, in the past 48 hours, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has received more than 32,000 inquiries from people wanting to start new campus chapters.

‘To put that in perspective, TPUSA currently has 900 official college chapters and around 1,200 high school chapters, with a presence of 3,500 total,’ Kolvet, who is also a TPUSA spokesman, wrote on X.

‘Charlie’s vision to have a Club America chapter (our high school brand) in every high school in America (around 23,000) will come true much, much faster than he could have ever possibly imagined,’ Kolvet added, calling the response to expand Kirk’s mission ‘truly incredible.’

In a separate post, Kolvet wrote, ‘This is the Turning Point.’

Kirk was assassinated during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon. The event was the first in what was supposed to be a series called ‘American Comeback Tour.’

Kirk, the charismatic 31-year-old founder of the conservative youth activist group, gained recognition for his signature political debates on college campuses. 

On Thursday evening, the second family escorted Kirk’s casket and family from Utah to their home state of Arizona on Air Force Two. A video of the moment showed his wife, Erika Kirk, visibly emotional on the tarmac as the casket passed before her. The couple have two young children.

Kirk’s celebration of life ceremony is scheduled for next Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. 

President Donald Trump said he will attend Kirk’s funeral. 

On Friday evening, Kirk’s widow galvanized the TPUSA movement and vowed to carry on her husband’s mission.

‘To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,’ Kirk said. ‘I refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband’s name. And I will make sure of it. It will become stronger. Bolder. Louder and greater than ever,’ Kirk said.

She also said that TPUSA’s annual ‘AmericaFest’ conference in Phoenix this December will continue as scheduled.

Judah Waxelbaum, a former campus activist at Arizona State University for Republican causes, said that the assassination likely awoke a ‘sleeping giant’ and will likely see an increase in members.

Turning Point’s not going anywhere. Turning Point, I think, will probably actually get significantly larger in the wake of what happened to Charlie,’ he told Fox News Digital in an interview on Saturday. ‘You couldn’t do youth politics in Arizona, really anywhere in the United States without coming across Charlie Kirk.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve woken up a sleeping giant.’

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Sunday responded vaguely to questions about the possibilities of the U.S. striking mainland Venezuela as well as additional drug-smuggling boats amid rising tensions between the two countries.

Trump answered several questions about Venezuela while speaking to reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday — including the possibility of striking the country and whether he fears escalation from President Nicolás Maduro.

‘We’ll see what happens,’ Trump said on Sunday in response to a question about the likelihood of a U.S. strike on the Latin American nation. ‘Look, Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It’s not acceptable.’

The president also said that the number of boats seen off the coast of Venezuela, where his administration recently bolstered the U.S. Navy’s presence, has decreased significantly.

‘We’ll see what happens,’ Trump told reporters for a second time when asked if he intends to launch additional strikes on Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats. ‘There’s certainly not a lot of boats out there. …. There’s been very little boat traffic.’

When asked on Sunday if he was concerned about a possible escalation from Maduro, who has labeled some of Trump’s actions illegal, Trump pointed to the millions of drug deaths that occurred in the U.S. last year.

‘What’s illegal are the drugs on the boat, and the drugs that are being sent into our country and the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs, that’s what’s illegal,’ Trump fired back.

The remarks from Trump come amid escalating tensions after a U.S. military strike earlier this month blew apart a Venezuelan drug boat in the southern Caribbean, leaving nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) narco terrorists dead. On Saturday, Venezuela’s foreign minister accused U.S. Navy personnel of boarding a tuna boat with nine fishermen in Venezuelan waters, according to The Associated Press.

‘A lot of drugs are coming out of Venezuela. A lot of Tren de Aragua,’ Trump told reporters. ‘They’re trying to get out, but we’re stopping them successfully at the border in Venezuela.’

In February, the Trump administration also designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and others as foreign terrorist organizations.

President Donald Trump will make a state visit to the UK this week, marking his second such stop during his presidency. Later in the week, Trump will travel to Arizona to attend the funeral of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Trump’s return to England is unusual, as U.S. presidents rarely make more than one state visit during their time in office, underscoring both the political and symbolic weight of the occasion. 

Trump and first lady Melania Trump will be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle. Buckingham Palace is under renovation. The Trumps will also meet with Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales during their visit.

Following a formal welcome, Trump will take part in a series of ceremonial events, including a carriage procession, a gun salute and a flyover by military fighter jets. 

Festivities will culminate with a lavish state dinner. An estimated 150 guests are typically invited to the state dinner based on their cultural, diplomatic or economic links to the country being hosted.

Darren McGrady, who was a personal chef to the late Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana and her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, told Fox News Digital there is no room for error when it comes to the menu. He served as a royal chef for 15 years and cooked for five U.S. presidents.

Trump will head to Chequers on Thursday, the country house of the sitting UK prime minister, where he’ll meet Keir Starmer for a series of bilateral meetings, followed by a joint news conference later that day.

Trump, 79, and King Charles, 76, have known each other for decades, dating back to Charles’s visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in the late 1980s. More recently, Charles sent Trump a personal note after he survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pa. 

Trump will end his week traveling to Arizona to attend the funeral of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on Wednesday. Kirk, the charismatic founder of Turning Point USA, was shot during an outdoor debate on the Utah Valley University campus.

In the wake of his death, Kirk’s widow, Erika, vowed to carry on her husband’s mission. ‘To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,’ Kirk said in a video statement on Friday. ‘I refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband’s name. And I will make sure of it. It will become stronger. Bolder. Louder and greater than ever,’ Kirk said.

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ wrote on X that in the past 48 hours, Turning Point USA has received more than 32,000 inquiries from people wanting to start new campus chapters. 

In a separate post, Kolvet wrote, ‘This is the Turning Point.’

Five years ago this week, history was made on the South Lawn of the White House when Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords. What many had long dismissed as an impossible dream became an undeniable reality: Arab nations publicly embracing peace with Israel not as the byproduct of endless negotiations, but as the result of American leadership. 

I had the great privilege of working alongside President Donald Trump to make that day possible. The Abraham Accords were no accident of wishful diplomacy or naïve illusions. 

They were born of a policy deeply rooted in reality: that strength is the surest guarantor of peace, that America must stand unapologetically with Israel, and that Israel’s Arab neighbors, with the right encouragement, could find common cause with the Jewish state.

Five years later, their impact is unmistakable. The accords have preserved peace among the signatory nations, which now include Morocco and Sudan, even through some of the darkest days in Israel’s modern history. 

When Hamas launched the barbaric terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, plunging Israel into open warfare against Hamas-controlled Gaza, many feared the young partnerships would collapse. Instead, ambassadors remained in Israel, governments maintained ties and trade continued. In a region where alliances are often fleeting, that resilience is itself historic.

And the peace has been fruitful. Trade between Israel and its new partners has surged into the billions. 

Joint commercial ventures are not only creating jobs but knitting societies together in ways few ever imagined. Direct flights now link Tel Aviv with Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Manama. 

Israeli tourists now vacation in lands where Jews were forced to flee just decades ago. These human connections make future conflict far less likely and lasting stability more attainable. History reminds us that nations that prosper together seldom go to war with one another.

These achievements are even more remarkable considering that the Biden-Harris administration did virtually nothing to expand the accords’ circle of peace. In fact, the prior administration prioritized concessions to malevolent actors. The result is a peace that has endured but also stagnated, with untapped potential to reshape the Middle East for good.

Now, America has another chance to regain the momentum for peace that President Trump created in his first term, and the administration should make broadening the accords a top foreign policy priority. The United States should reaffirm our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our promise that any nation seeking partnership with Israel will find America to be a willing partner as well. In particular, Saudi Arabia’s entry into the accords would be a giant step forward. 

Normalization of Riyadh’s relations with Jerusalem would end the Jewish state’s long isolation in the Arab world, ushering in a new era of security, cooperation and economic growth that would bless the region for generations to come.

The Abraham Accords have already written a new chapter in the story of the Middle East. They proved that true peace does not come from appeasing terror, but from uniting those with the courage to oppose it. 

As we commemorate their fifth anniversary, America must not only preserve what has been achieved but expand the circle of peace until it includes all who yearn for a future built on hope rather than hatred. 

The dream of a Middle East defined by peace and prosperity is closer today than at any point in living memory. With strong leadership from the Trump administration, it can yet become a lasting reality.