Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) confirmed Sunday that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused assassin of Charlie Kirk, is refusing to cooperate with law enforcement. Robinson, arrested Friday, remains in custody with formal charges expected Tuesday.
“He has not confessed to, to authorities,” Cox told ABC News’s This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “He is, he is, he is not cooperating, but, but, but all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that’s, that’s, that’s very important.”
Robinson’s refusal to talk comes as investigators piece together a troubling picture of his life and possible motives. On NBC’s Meet the Press, Cox shut down speculation that Robinson was a conservative, despite online rumors. “We can confirm…according to family and people we are interviewing, he does come from a conservative family but his ideology was very different than his family,” Cox said.
The governor also confirmed that Robinson was romantically involved with a roommate transitioning from male to female. While that individual had no knowledge of the assassination and has been “very cooperative,” Cox noted, the connection highlights the turbulent personal world surrounding Robinson.
Questions remain about Robinson’s online activity. Cox acknowledged a New York Times report that Robinson had joked on Discord about being the shooter. “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,” Cox explained.
What makes this case especially alarming is Robinson’s background. Once described as “very normal, very smart” with straight A’s and a 34 ACT score, he dropped out after one semester at Utah State University. Cox told NBC that Robinson then spent much of his time “gaming and immersed on the ‘deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture and these other dark places.’”
The governor emphasized that “much more” will be revealed on Tuesday, when formal charges are filed. But one thing is already clear: this was no random act. The calculated, ideological nature of the crime — combined with Robinson’s descent into online radicalism — underscores how political violence is being fueled by toxic digital subcultures.
At a time when Americans should be debating ideas, not silencing them with bullets, Charlie Kirk’s murder stands as a chilling reminder of what happens when hate is allowed to fester unchecked.
