Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer is “not cooperating” with authorities and has not confessed to carrying out the shooting, Utah’s Governor, Spencer Cox, has said.
The suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22, was taken into custody some 33 hours after Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing activist, was shot dead in Orem last Wednesday.
Cox, a Republican, told several Sunday Morning shows that investigators were still trying to establish a motive, but people around Mr. Robinson were cooperating.
Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University at an open-air event held by Turning Point USA, the organisation he co-founded, when he was hit in the neck by a single bullet.
The event was part of the American Comeback Tour, which was a speaking engagement that took him to several college campuses throughout the US.
Cox previously told the Wall Street Journal that Mr. Robinson, a Utah native, was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology”.
When questioned during CNN’s State of the Union programme on Sunday, he said the suspect’s friends and family offered the information.
The governor said among those cooperating with authorities was Mr. Robinson’s roommate, who is also his partner.
He said the partner was currently “transitioning from male to female”, but when asked by CNN, said that authorities do not yet know if that is relevant to the investigation.
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Cox added that the partner did not have any knowledge about the alleged shooting, had been “incredibly cooperative” and was working with investigators “right now”.
The governor was also asked about a New York Times report alleging Mr. Robinson had spoken to others after the shooting via the Discord messaging platform, including allegations that he joked about being the gunman.
His “doppelganger,” he wrote, was trying to “get me in trouble”, according to messages seen by the Times.
Cox told ABC News: “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.”
Mr. Robinson was arrested on Thursday night after surrendering to the police.
An affidavit from the state of Utah confirms that Mr. Robinson was arrested on suspicion of the crimes of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
He is currently being held without bail at Utah County Jail.
“We’re interviewing all kinds of people, everyone who knows him, and trying to learn more about what the motive actually was,” Cox said.
Following Kirk’s death, Cox has been prominent in calling for unity in a bid to ease political tensions, and has made repeated comments criticising social media.
