FBI Director Kash Patel issued a lengthy statement about the agency’s investigation into the murder of Charlie Kirk on Sunday where he indicated that a man seen standing near Kirk making “hand gestures” was being looked into.
Patel wrote on X that the agency was “meticulously investigating theories and questions”, including whether the suspect in the shooting, Tyler Robinson, had an accomplice.
Authorities haven’t made any other arrests related to the shooting death of Kirk at Utah Valley University earlier this month, and Robinson himself surrendered to law enforcement after apparently being recognized by a family members and convinced into doing so. Messages were released purporting to be from Robinson in which he describes Kirk’s political views as hateful.
Patel’s statement also said that the agency was investigating “hand gestures observed as potential ‘signals’ near Charlie at the time of his assassination.”
Though he hasn’t been identified publicly, Patel’s statement refers to videos of a man in a white baseball cap seen standing near Kirk ahead of the Turning Point USA founder’s killing who was seen fiddling with and adjusting the brim of his hat in a manner similar to baseball coaches sending signals to pitchers and other players during games. Videos of the unidentified man have circulated on social media as conspiracy theories and speculation have swirled around Kirk’s murder.
“Some details are known today, while others are still being pursued to ensure every possibility is considered. Our primary focus is to complete this investigation and deliver justice. To protect the integrity of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, we cannot release every piece of information we have to the public right now. We will ensure every question is addressed at the appropriate moment,” added the FBI director.
Patel’s statement was able to dismiss one element of speculation around Kirk’s murder: a gap in flight transponder data from a plane that took off near the site of Kirk’s assassination that Wednesday afternoon.
“Incomplete flight data in rural areas caused the apparent gap,” he explained.
Kirk’s murder touched off a wave of conspiracies on social media as members of both sides of the political spectrum rushed to blame each other for the shooting. The MAGAworld insider was close friends with Donald Trump Jr., Vice President JD Vance and others within the president’s inner circle and many in Donald Trump’s orbit have called for recriminations against the left and Democrats in the wake of the murder.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even engaged in the news, denying accusations of Israel’s involvement in the murder in a video statement.
The issue has caused a divide on the right as some Republicans have voiced discomfort with the idea of wielding federal power in an effort to suppress political speech and expression in the wake of Kirk’s death; Kirk himself opposed the expansion of hate speech criminalization, which the Department of Justice said it would pursue before backing down in the face of that conservative backlash.
Patel, meanwhile, remains under scrutiny for his agency’s failure to catch the alleged assassin in the immediate hours after the shooting and the embarrassing mix-up that occurred on the evening of the shooting itself: the FBI director tweeted, then deleted a statement claiming that a suspect was apprehended.
Several conservative commentators suggested in the wake of the incident that Patel was not up to the job. The White House issued a furious statement in his defense, and Patel went on Fox News to explain his mistake– though the network reported separately that figures inside the West Wing were among the director’s critics.
“The job of the FBI is not just to manhunt the actual suspect who did the killing, or suspects, but it’s also to eliminate targets and eliminate subjects who are not involved in the process, and that’s what we were doing,” Patel told Fox News.
“Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment? Sure, but do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not. I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing and I’m continuing to do that.”
During the interview with Fox, the director announced that DNA samples taken from a towel and screwdriver at the shooting scene matched Robinson’s DNA. He also confirmed reports that the suspect was no longer cooperating with law enforcement.
