OCT 2025. Blues Vol 41 No.10

AROUND THE

AROUND THE COUNTRYWASHINGTON CNTY, UT.Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby credited a retired detective and the suspect’sfamily for facilitating a peaceful surrender after a 33-hour manhunt for Tyler Robinson.By Joanna Putman, Police 1WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah –An agency assisting in the investigationof the assassinationof conservative activist CharlieKirk has released informationsurrounding the conditions of hissurrender, the retired detectivewho helped coordinate with thesheriff’s office and the implicationof people rumored to haveconnections to the shooter.Washington County SheriffNate Brooksby started the newsconference by clearing up falserumors surrounding a retired deputy.“There was some initial news… that Matt Robinson is currentlya deputy with the sheriff’s officeand he physically put handcuffson his son, the suspect,and brought him into jail. That’scompletely false,” Brooksby said.Brooksby stressed that a retiredWashington County correctionsdeputy, also namedMatt Robinson, has been wronglylinked to the case. The suspect’sfather shares the same name,but the two are not the sameperson. He said the retired correctionsdeputy has faced harassmentand even had to leavehis home due to the confusion.The sheriff went on to describethe manhunt for thesuspect, Tyler Robinson, sayingthe hunt lasted 33 hours beforehe received a call from a retiredWashington County detective.The caller told Brooksby that heknew who the shooter was, andhe knew the family through “religiousassociation.” The callertold Brooksby that Robinson waspossibly having suicidal ideations,that the family persuadedhim not to kill himself and thatthey were working to convincehim to surrender peacefully.Brooksby said he then immediatelycalled Sheriff Mike Smithin Utah County and informed himthat the suspect was in WashingtonCounty and that theywere working to get him to turnhimself in.Within an hour, the retireddetective who called in the tipdrove Robinson and his parentsto the Washington County Sheriff’sOffice, where he was greetedby detectives in plainclothes.“Part of the deal is Tyler knewit was just inevitable with allthe law enforcement pressure[and with] his picture in the news[and] the gun on the news, heknew it was inevitable that hewould be caught. He was fearfulof a SWAT team hit on his houseor he was fearful of being shotby law enforcement,” Brooksby said.Brooksby and the WashingtonCounty detectives and deputiesheld the suspect without interrogatinghim until federal and46 The BLUES OCTOBER ‘25

state law enforcement arrived.They secured Robinson’s parents’homes, as well as the apartmentwhere he was living.Brooksby said Robinson feareda SWAT raid or being shot by lawenforcement and asked only thatthe surrender be handled gently.“The conditions were as relaxedand comfortable and almost tothe point of inviting,” Brooksby said.“And [if] at the end of the day… we accomplish him surrenderingpeacefully on his own,[I’m going to] make some concessionsto make that happen.”Brooksby also addressed otherquestions about the surrender.He clarified that while the retiredofficer who turnedRobinson in was associatedwith the family by religion, hewas not a leader in the church ora youth pastor. The sheriff alsocleared the bishop of the LDSchurch the family attended ofany involvement.Brooksby said that he couldnot confirm any previous contactthe sheriff’s office may have hadwith Robinson, but stated thatRobinson’s residence was not inthe office’s typical jurisdiction.While Brooksby did not identifythe detective involved in negotiatingthe surrender, he said thathe had been out of the force forabout three years. Prior to thesurrender, the sheriff said theyhad no idea that the suspect wasin Washington County.Brooksby credited his retiredcolleague with helping prevent aviolent confrontation.“He deserves full credit,” thesheriff said. “The family trustedhim, and he trusted me. That’swhat allowed for a calm, safesurrender.”The BLUES - OCTOBER ‘25 47