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The head of the National Counterterrorism Center examined FBI files in the past several weeks to investigate whether the man charged with assassinating Charlie Kirk had support from someone else, a foreign power or another entity, according to multiple people with knowledge of the matter. The inquiry by Joe Kent, the director of the counterterrorism center, alarmed Kash Patel, the director of the FBI. Patel and other senior officials believed Kent was overstepping, treading on FBI responsibilities and potentially interfering with the investigation and the prosecution of the suspect, Tyler Robinson. But supporters of Kent say he was doing his job, running down leads and making sure no foreign or domestic groups were linked to Kirk’s death. Robinson, 22, is accused of killing Kirk last month as the conservative activist made an appearance at a college campus in Utah, one of many where he would, one student at a time, debate contentious topics. State prosecutors in Utah have charged Robinson with seven counts, including felony aggravated murder. The Senate confirmed Kent as director of the counterterrorism center in July. He is one of the closest advisers to Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, and shares her focus on traditional terrorism groups as well as drug cartels, which he argues are a grave threat to the United States. Patel was troubled that Kent had gone through FBI material related to the case, according to the people knowledgeable on the matter. Kent’s efforts were a topic at a White House meeting that included Patel, Kent and his direct superior, Gabbard. Top Justice Department officials, Vice President JD Vance and the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, were also there, according to several people who spoke to The New York Times about the matter. The people interviewed by the Times were granted anonymity to speak frankly about internal dynamics in the Trump administration. The FBI and the Justice Department generally keep tight control over evidence in criminal cases, particularly when they are preparing for a trial, in which government documents may have to be turned over to the defense and could be used to poke holes in the prosecution’s case. While Robinson is facing only state charges, some administration officials were concerned that Kent’s efforts could provide fodder to defense lawyers, who could use the notion that more than one person was involved in Kirk’s killing to raise reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors, said those aware of the matter. Since Kirk’s death, some White House officials have pressed for federal investigations of liberal groups and donors, and some of the president’s allies outside the administration are convinced that the killing is part of a broader plot, despite a lack of evidence that has been presented to support that. Officials involved in the arrest have said they believe Robinson acted alone. Kent told administration officials that a lower-level FBI official had granted him access to the agency’s files, which Patel was said not to be aware of, according to some of the people interviewed by the Times. In response to questions from the Times, Patel and Gabbard released a joint statement that did not address the debate over Kent’s inquiry and sought to portray a unified front. “The FBI and intelligence community under the direction of President Trump will leave no stone unturned in the investigation of the assassination of our friend, Charlie Kirk,” they said. But multiple people said tensions over Kent’s work had persisted for some time and were part of a broader set of issues between Gabbard’s office and other administration agencies. The meeting that Kent attended at the White House was one of two intended to ameliorate tensions between the FBI and Gabbard’s office, the people briefed on the matter said. The earlier one, which focused on multiple issues, including the killing of Kirk, was so tense that little was accomplished, they added. In the hours after Kirk’s killing, before Robinson was identified as the suspect, officials across U.S. intelligence agencies were investigating whether any foreign government was involved in a plot to kill Kirk. Some officials inside the government raised questions about the assassin’s abilities and training after security footage was released of him jumping from a high ledge. Early in the investigation, evidence was collected that contained words often associated with anti-fascist writing — namely, the inscriptions on bullets found in the rifle that killed Kirk. In the charging document, prosecutors included a text message from Robinson that claimed the inscriptions were “mostly a big” internet meme. The counterterrorism center gathered material from intelligence agencies about potential foreign ties to Robinson and has also looked at foreign funding of people who identify with the far-left movement known as antifa. Trump has said Robinson was radicalized by the left, though the president has not directly tied him to antifa. After Kirk’s killing, Trump said he was designating antifa as a terrorist organization. Antifa is a term for a sometimes violent protest culture of far-left activists, but is not an actual organization. Several critics have questioned what legal criteria the president is using to make such a designation about a diffuse movement with no clear leader. Under Kent, the National Counterterrorism Center has taken a higher profile than in years past, issuing warnings about potential terrorist attacks and highlighting work to aid Mexico in hunting leaders of drug cartels. But some critics of Kent’s work say he is pushing his center into areas that should be left to the FBI or the CIA. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2025 The New York Times Company
