The arrest of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah native who on Friday night was expected to be charged with the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, bookends the latest episode of extraordinary American political violence. But an atmosphere of fear and fragility continues to dominate political discourse across the country.

The manhunt for Kirk’s killer coincided with the emotionally freighted anniversary events of 9/11 on Thursday. News that a suspect was in custody was delivered by president Donald Trump in an appearance on the Fox Live Morning Show on Friday morning. During the conversation he was asked how “we” fix the country.

“I’ll tell you something that’s gonna get me in trouble but I couldn’t care less,” Trump replied.

“The radicals on the right are often radical because they don’t want to see crime. The radicals on the left are the problem and they are vicious and they are horrible and they are politically savvy.”

[ Charlie Kirk widow says her ‘cries will echo around the world like a battle cry’Opens in new window ]

[ Who is Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s murder?Opens in new window ]

It is believed a family member of Robinson’s raised an alert that ended the intense FBI search. He was arrested late Thursday evening in Washington County, close to Zion National Park. Early profiles suggest no political affiliation and that he had acted alone in shooting Kirk. Messages etched on to the shell casings left behind at the crime scene included online message board in-jokes, and the phrase “Hey Fascist, Catch”.

Several political figures from the left and right have spoken openly of a general, deepening fear as the targeting of public figures heightens their sense of vulnerability. Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez postponed an event in Raleigh, North Carolina, scheduled this weekend. The shocking manner of Kirk’s assassination, as he spoke in an open-air forum in front of a crowded gathering of students at Utah Valley State university in Orem, will cause other public speakers to question the safety of such close-proximity events.

During a period when the national mood is frayed and heightened, it fell to Spencer Cox, the Republican governor of Utah, to strike a reasoned and compassionate tone that transcended political affiliation as he called for a halt.

“I absolutely believe this is a watershed in American history, yes. The question is what kind of watershed. If you look at true political assassinations in this country of someone of this stature this feels a lot like the late 60s and having one so gruesomely displayed on camera in all of our hands and all of our pockets.

“We are not wired as human beings biologically, historically. We have not evolved in a way that we are capable of processing those types of violent imagery. Social media is a cancer on our society right now and I would encourage people to log off, touch grass, hug a family member.”

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Kirk’s killer had eluded police and federal agents for more than 24 hours after Wednesday’s shooting, in which a sniper fired a single gunshot that killed the right-wing commentator during an appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem.

“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,” Cox said. This information was relayed to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and scene investigators at Utah Valley University, he added.

Cox added that investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson’s who said that he had become “more political in recent years”.

[ Charlie Kirk in his own words: ‘prowling blacks’ and his views on gun controlOpens in new window ]

Kirk was a provocateur and a divisive figure who is credited with helping bring young people, especially men, into the US president’s “Make America great again” (Maga) movement. He was also known for bigoted views, calling for a total ban on transgender healthcare, describing immigration from Muslim countries as “civilisational suicide” and peddling conspiracy theories about Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.