The substantial reward offered for information on the individual responsible for Charlie Kirk’s death may be claimed by a relative of the suspect.
Charlie Kirk, aged 31, was fatally shot in front of an audience of students at Utah Valley University, Orem, during a Turning Point USA event on Wednesday, September 10.
Initially, the FBI declared a reward of up to $100,000 for details leading to the identification and arrest of Kirk’s murderer.
Amidst the ongoing search, Alex Bruesewitz, one of President Donald Trump’s advisors, proposed increasing the reward by $25,000, and Conservative activist Robby Starbuck agreed to match that contribution.
Subsequently, billionaire Bill Ackman pledged $1 million, raising the total reward to $1,150,000.
Bill Ackman took to Twitter to discuss whether the family of the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah, would qualify for the reward if they turned him in.
“A number of people have reached out and/or posted expressing concern that Tyler Robinson’s father may collect a $1.2m reward for turning in his son, which inspires a few thoughts,” he posted.
“First, in order for rewards to be effective in finding criminals, the rewards need to be paid even if the recipient is a crook or worse. That said, in this case, if Tyler’s father is found to have been involved or otherwise acted negligently in contributing to Charlie’s death, civil litigation or criminal prosecution will reverse any unjust compensation.”
In essence, this means if the family is proven uninvolved, they could receive the reward, but involvement would disqualify them.
He went on to say: “I have also seen reports which suggest that Tyler’s family intends to waive its right to any reward.
“So yes, we will pay the reward if it is earned to whomever the FBI indicates provided the information that led to Tyler’s arrest.
“I always keep my word.”
Regarding whether the father would receive the reward, an earlier police report indicated that it was actually a family friend, not Robinson’s father, who alerted authorities.
The report stated: “On the evening of September 11, 2025, 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.
“This information was relayed to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and scene investigators at UVU [Utah Valley University]. This information was also conveyed to the FBI.”
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