Utah governor says it’s too soon to be sure of motive on Kirk shooting but suspect was on the left
By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and JOSH BOAK WASHINGTON AP Utah Gov Spencer Cox stated Sunday that investigators are not ready to discuss the motive behind the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk But he stated the -year-old suspect had left-leaning political beliefs and disliked the conservative influencer Clearly a leftist ideology Cox described NBC s Meet the Press On CNN s State of the Union he stated That information comes from the people around him his family members and friends Cox commented Robinson is not cooperating and that friends paint a picture of someone radicalized in the dark corners of the internet Clearly there was a lot of gaming going on Cox announced on NBC Friends have ratified that there was kind of that deep dark internet the Reddit values and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep A Republican who s called on all partisans to tone down their rhetoric following the attack the governor added I really don t have a dog in this fight If this was a radicalized MAGA person I d be saying that as well Cox stressed on several Sunday morning news shows however that investigators are still trying to pin down a motive for the attack on the father of two and Trump confidant who was killed Wednesday while on one of his signature college speaking tours at Utah Valley University The governor noted more information may come out once the suspect Tyler Robinson appears in court Tuesday The governor mentioned the suspect s partner was transgender which specific politicians have pointed to as a sign Robinson was targeting Kirk for his anti-trans views But officials have not commented whether it is relevant as they investigate Robinson s motive The roommate was a romantic partner a male transitioning to female Cox declared I can say that he has been incredibly cooperative this partner has been very cooperative had no idea that this was happening Investigators have spoken to Robinson s relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family s home in Washington about miles kilometers southwest of Utah Valley University where the shooting took place State records show Robinson is registered to vote but not affiliated with a political party and is listed as inactive meaning he did not vote in the two the majority new general elections His parents are registered Republicans Ammunition exposed with the weapon used to kill Kirk was engraved with taunting anti-fascist and meme-culture messages Court records show that one bullet casing had the message Hey fascist Catch Robinson grew up around St George in the southwestern corner of Utah between Las Vegas and natural landmarks including Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks Robinson became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints known widely as the Mormon church at a young age church spokesperson Doug Andersen revealed Robinson has two younger brothers and his parents have been married for about years according to social media posts Online activity by Robinson s mother reflects an current family that took vacations to Disneyland Hawaii the Caribbean and Alaska Like several in that part of Utah they frequently spent time outdoors boating fishing riding ATVs zip-lining and target shooting A post shows the family visiting a military facility and posing with assault rifles A young Robinson is seen exhibiting delight as he grips the handles of a -caliber heavy machine gun A high school honor roll participant who scored in the th percentile nationally on standardized tests he was admitted to Utah State University in on a prestigious academic scholarship according to a video of him reading his acceptance letter that was posted to a family member s social media account But he attended for only one semester according to the university He is as of now enrolled as a third-year pupil in the electrical apprenticeship undertaking at Dixie Technical College in St George Riccardi announced from Denver
