Utah Governor Spencer Cox has stated that Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer is “not cooperating” with investigators and has not confessed to carrying out the crime.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested about 33 hours after Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing activist, was fatally shot in Orem on Wednesday.
Cox, a Republican, told numerous Sunday morning shows that authorities were still looking for a motive, although others surrounding Mr. Robinson were cooperating.
Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University during an open-air event hosted by Turning Point USA, an organization he co-founded, when he was struck in the neck by a single gunshot.
The event was part of his American Comeback Tour, which included speaking engagements at various college campuses around the United States.
Cox earlier told the Wall Street Journal that Mr. Robinson, a Utah native, was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”
When questioned about it during CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, he stated that the information was provided by the suspect’s friends and family.
The governor stated that Mr. Robinson’s roommate, who also serves as his partner, was among those cooperating with investigators.
He stated that the partner was currently “transitioning from male to female,” but when questioned by CNN, he stated that officials do not yet know whether this is pertinent to the inquiry.
Cox noted that the partner had no knowledge of the alleged shooting, had been “incredibly cooperative,” and was “working with investigators right now.”
The governor was also questioned about a New York Times report that Mr. Robinson communicated with others after the shooting using the Discord messaging app, including charges that he joked about being the gunman.
According to messages obtained by the Times, his “doppelganger” attempted to “get me in trouble.”
Cox told ABC News, “All we can confirm is that those conversations definitely were happening, and they did not believe it was actually him.
“It was; it was all joking until, until he, you know, until he admitted that it actually was him.”
Mr. Robinson was detained Thursday night after surrendering to police.
An affidavit from the state of Utah states that Mr. Robinson was detained on accusations of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
He is currently being jailed without bond in Utah County Jail.
“We’re interviewing all kinds of people—everyone that knows him—and trying to learn more about what the motive actually was,” Cox said.
Following Kirk’s death, Cox has been outspoken in advocating for unity to alleviate political tensions, as well as making repeated criticisms of social media.
He previously referred to social media as a “cancer” and told CNN that the US needed to “get phones out of classrooms” and improve efforts to hold platform owners accountable.
He described Kirk’s shooting as a “direct assault on America” and urged Americans to “look in the mirror and decide whether we’re going to try to make it better or worse.”
Erika, Kirk’s widow, delivered a heartbreaking message on Saturday, thanking first responders for their efforts and vowing that her “husband’s voice will remain.”
A memorial service for Kirk will be conducted on September 21 at Arizona’s 60,000-seat State Farm Stadium, where he lived with his wife and two children.
Kirk, a contentious figure in US politics, was a prominent right-wing activist and a close ally of US President Donald Trump.
Turning Point USA sought to propagate conservative principles at liberal-leaning US universities and was instrumental in convincing people to vote for Trump and other Republican candidates in last year’s election.
Kirk was a staunch advocate of gun rights, an outspoken opponent of abortion, a critic of transgender and LGBT rights, and a propagator of incorrect information regarding Covid-19.
His followers stated that he was approachable and understood their worries. However, his views sparked significant liberal condemnation, with adversaries claiming that his words were highly hurtful to various minority groups, including LGBT people and Muslims.
