Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday that Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer comes from a conservative family but held different political views and lived with a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female.
Mr. Cox, a Republican, said the suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22, is not cooperating with investigators as they try to determine the motive behind the shooting.
“He does come from a conservative family, but his ideology was very different than his family, so that is part of it,” Mr. Cox said of Mr. Robinson on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We do know that the roommate that we had originally talked about, we can confirm that that roommate is a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female. So we know that piece.”
Mr. Cox said the boyfriend has “been very cooperative with authorities” and “was shocked” to learn Mr. Robinson was being arrested on charges of carrying out the shooting.
Mr. Kirk had become a notable figure in the modern-day conservative movement. The 31-year-old co-founded Turning Point USA and was credited with helping President Trump make inroads with young voters, who he focused on recruiting into the conservative movement.
He was shot to death Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.
Law enforcement later found unfired bullet casings that read “Hey fascists! Catch!” “Bella Ciao” and “if you read this, you are gay, lmao.”
On Sunday, Mr. Cox said formal charges against Mr. Robinson will be made Tuesday in court.
He said Mr. Robinson appears to have gone from being a “very smart young man” to becoming radicalized after dropping out of Utah State University after less than a semester and moving back to southern Utah.
“Friends have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture, and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep,” the governor said.
