Why Tyler Robinson killed Charlie Kirk? Utah governor says suspect has transgender partner, leftist ideology

Tyler Robinson, the man arrested for the assassination of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, was romantically involved with a transgender roommate and had “leftist ideology”, Utah Governor Spencer Cox revealed on Sunday. While speaking to CNN, Cox emphasised that Robinson had different political ideologies from Kirk, which could be his probable motivation for committing the crime.

“Yes, I can confirm that,” Governor Spencer Cox told CNN’s State of the Union talk show when asked about suspect Tyler Robinson’s reported relationship with a trans partner. “The roommate was a romantic partner, a male transitioning to a female,” Cox said.

“This partner has been incredibly cooperative, had no idea that this was happening, and is working with investigators right now,” he added. Cox also revealed that 22-year-old Robinson is expected to be formally charged in the case on Tuesday.

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Robinson’s partner comes under scrutiny

In the CNN interview, the Utah governor stressed that it was not clear yet whether the partner’s transitioning was part of the alleged shooter’s mindset to kill Kirk, who had been a close ally of US President Donald Trump. “Again, all of these things - we’re trying to figure out,” he said.

On Sunday, Cox made rounds on US networks, urging Americans to lower the toxic political temperature in the country. While speaking to NBC News, Cox said that the investigators believed Robinson had embraced leftist beliefs. “There clearly was a leftist ideology with this - with this assassin,” he said.

The Utah governor noted that since Robinson was not cooperating, the authorities derived the information from “people around him, from his family members and friends.” On Saturday, multiple American media outlets reported Robinson’s relationship with a transgender individual, sparking fury among far-right activists.

The trans question

Laura Loomer, a conservative influencer who has Trump’s ear, called on Saturday to designate the Trans movement as a “terrorist movement.” Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk elevated multiple posts on his social media platform X, calling for gender treatment bans and denouncing leftist ideology. On the same day, the billionaire went ahead telling a London march organised by far-right activists that “the left is the party of murder.”

Kirk was shot dead last week while speaking at a rally on a Utah university campus. The 31-year-old was the founder of the conservative youth political group Turning Point USA and was a strong critic of the transgender rights movement.

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In the past, he wrote on X about what he called a “trans delusion death cult”, shortly after two children were killed and nine others wounded at a school church shooting in Minneapolis by an assailant authorities say was a 23-year-old man who claimed to be transgender.

Kirk was known for often invoking the Christian faith and criticised what he and others have called gender ideology. In a video posted in 2023 by Right Wing Watch, Kirk described individuals being transgender to a church audience as “a throbbing middle finger to God.”