Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer is refusing to cooperate with investigators over the shooting of the conservative commentator and Trump ally, according to Utah Governor Spencer Cox. Governor Cox did however confirm that Tyler Robinson’s boyfriend – who is transitioning from a man to a woman – is assisting the FBI.
“He is not cooperating, but all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that’s, that’s, that’s very important”, the Republican said.
He added: “We can confirm that his roommate was indeed a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female. That’s information that the FBI had mentioned yesterday. We can confirm that as well. And that he is cooperating with authorities as well.”
Robinson, 22, is alleged to have shot the 31-year-old father-of-two in the neck as he spoke to an audience of 3,000 people at an event at Utah Valley University. Mr Kirk, who had become famous for challenging those with diverging views to debate him publicly, had been sitting under a gazebo when he was fatally shot.
Robinson is said to have used online communication platform Discord to hint at his plans, but the company behind the app have disputed the claims.
Investigators interviewed Robinson’s roomate, who showed them exchanges on the messaging app between him and an accounted named “Tyler”.
“Tyler” described needing to get a “unique” rifle, leaving it in a bush, watching over the area, and wrapping it in a towel. The account also sent messages mentioning engraving bullets and a scope.
Governor Cox added officials found a bolt action rifle, with a scope, wrapped in a dark towel, and inscriptions on the bullet casings. One inscription read: “Notices bulges owo.” Others included: “Hey fascist! Catch!”, “o bella ciao, bella ciao” and “if you read this you are gay lmao”.
A Discord spokesman said: “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and extend our condolences to the Kirk family and everyone affected.
“In the course of our investigation, we identified a Discord account associated with the suspect, but have found no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord. The messages referenced in recent reporting about planning details do not appear to be Discord messages.
“These were communications between the suspect’s roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere.
“We have removed the suspect’s account for violating our off-platform behavior policy. We strongly condemn violence of any kind, including political violence, and we will continue to coordinate closely with law enforcement.”