Tyler Robinson, the individual implicated in the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, is not assisting investigators, Utah Governor Spencer Cox disclosed on Sunday.
“He has not confessed to authorities. He is not cooperating, but all the people around him are cooperating,” Cox remarked during an appearance on ABC’s This Week.
Robinson is presently incarcerated without bond and is slated to be formally indicted on Tuesday.
Cox, a Republican who has earned commendation for his appeals for calm in the wake of Kirk’s murder, offered several updates regarding the investigation in interviews conducted on Sunday, providing insight into the areas where authorities were concentrating their efforts to determine a motive.
The governor informed NBC that Robinson, aged 22, “does originate from a conservative family, but his ideology differed greatly from his family’s… There was clearly a leftist ideology associated with this assailant in recent years.” He stated that this conclusion was drawn from investigators’ conversations with family members, but he did not furnish any additional details.
He further mentioned that Robinson harbored an obsession with “Reddit culture and other dark corners of the internet,” a fact that was apparent in the inscription found on .
Cox stated in a subsequent interview with that Robinson’s romantic partner and housemate identified as transgender, “undergoing a male-to-female transition.”
“This partner has been extraordinarily cooperative, had no inkling that this was transpiring and is currently working with investigators,” said Cox, who declined to speculate on any potential link between that relationship and the motive.
These updates emerge three days after Robinson’s arrest, which followed an intense pursuit for Kirk’s killer.
Authorities have not yet divulged the complete specifics of how Robinson was apprehended, but it was suggested that his father encouraged him to surrender after recognizing his son in the grainy surveillance footage released by law enforcement.
“Essentially, someone very close to him turned him in,” President Donald Trump stated on “Fox and Friends” Friday morning.
CNN reported that Robinson initially collaborated with police, but subsequently ceased speaking after securing legal counsel on Friday morning.
Robinson was raised in a conservative Utah family and community and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at a young age, according to a church spokesperson, although it remains unclear if he continued to attend services.
He appeared to be a talented student. A video posted on a family member’s social media account displays him reading his acceptance letter from Utah State University for a distinguished academic scholarship. However, he only attended for one semester, according to the . At the time of the shooting, he was engaged in a third-year engineering apprenticeship at Dixie Technical College.
As per the Washington County Clerk, although Robinson’s parents are registered Republicans, he holds no affiliation with either party and has not cast a vote in the past two elections.
The conclusions investigators reach regarding Robinson’s motivations could have extensive ramifications extending beyond his own criminal case. In the aftermath of the killing, numerous Republicans and conservative commentators called for a sweeping —presuming that the perpetrator would likely be someone from the opposite side of the political spectrum as Kirk.
If these prove to be accurate, those demands will likely amplify.
President Donald Trump and his officials have pledged severe consequences for the “radical left,” which he asserted was “directly accountable for the acts of terrorism currently observed in our nation.”
“My Administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country,” he affirmed.
This narrative is still unfolding.