In Utah, the 22-year-old man accused of assassinating the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. Tyler Robinson was detained on Thursday night after he reportedly confessed to his father, who then reached out to a youth pastor who called the U.S. Marshals. Robinson is reportedly not cooperating with investigators and is being held under “special watch.”
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Authorities are still trying to determine a motive in the killing. Tyler Robinson grew up in a deeply Republican family. Authorities say Robinson engraved messages into bullet casings with references to various online and video game memes. Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox has claimed Robinson had “leftist ideology,” but did not share any evidence. There has also been speculation that Robinson may have been influenced by a far-right movement known as Groypers, which is tied to the white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
Governor Cox said Tyler Robinson’s roommate has been cooperating with investigators. Cox also said Robinson was in a romantic relationship with his roommate, who is transitioning from male to female. This is Governor Cox speaking on Friday.
Gov. Spencer Cox: “I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence. Violence is violence. And there is one person responsible for what happened here. And that person is now in custody and will be charged soon and will be held accountable.”
While Utah Governor Spencer Cox said there is one person responsible for Charlie Kirk’s killing, President Trump sent a very different message when he appeared on Fox News Friday morning.
Ainsley Earhardt: “How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?”
President Donald Trump: “Well, I’ll tell you something that’s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. They don’t want to see crime. … The radicals on the left are the problem, and they’re vicious, and they’re horrible, and they’re politically savvy.”
Trump also called for Democratic donor George Soros to be jailed. Trump’s top adviser Stephen Miller has also threatened to target and dismantle progressive organizations after Kirk’s killing. We will have more on this story after headlines.
