Retired FBI Special Agent Bobby Chacon said on Newsmax Saturday that the accused gunman in the Charlie Kirk assassination began a troubling spiral after a brief stint at Utah Valley University, where he abruptly abandoned a prestigious scholarship before retreating into online extremism.
Chacon, speaking on “America Right Now,” said the background of Tyler Robinson, 22, showed no obvious signs of instability before he attended the school.
“He comes from a presumably normal family,” Chacon said. “His dad’s fairly conservative. His family is, you know, middle-class American family. No issues there. But he’s a smart kid. He gets like the top scholarship to [a] university in Utah to study engineering, which is a difficult field. And he goes and he spends one semester there.”
“For some reason, something happens at that one semester and he gives up the scholarship, he goes back home, he enrolls in a vocational technical school, and everything kind of changes,” Chacon said. “Then his family starts seeing him spend more time online, just in his room. And something happened in that one semester at school that kind of changed the trajectory of his life.”
Authorities announced Friday that Robinson was arrested in connection with the targeted killing of Kirk, a conservative activist whose work has drawn sharp political divides nationwide. Officials said Robinson had expressed opposition to Kirk’s viewpoints before the shooting and later indicated to a family friend that he was responsible.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said key evidence included engravings on bullets found in the rifle believed to be used in the attack, along with messages attributed to Robinson that a roommate shared with law enforcement.
Chacon emphasized that the Utah Valley University period should be closely examined in understanding Robinson’s path.
“That’s where I would focus,” he said. “What happened at that semester at school where he gives up that very lucrative scholarship, four-year full ride, and then comes home and enrolls in a technical school and starts spending too much time online?”
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