Topline
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday that Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was living with “a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female” who “did not have any knowledge” of the attack and is cooperating with authorities, as investigators try to piece together how he became radicalized.
“He does come from a conservative family, but his ideology was very different from his family, so that’s part of it,” Cox said on “Meet the Press,” citing interviews with Robinson’s family.
Robinson’s roommate is “a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female,” Cox said, also noting “that person has been very cooperative with authorities” and “did not have any knowledge, was shocked, when they found out about it, when he found out about it.”
Robinson has not been cooperating with authorities, Cox said, and the information investigators have uncovered has come only from “people around the suspect” and forensic information.
Cox said the state was compiling more forensic evidence and more information would be released when the state files charges against Robinson on Tuesday.
Before he was radicalized, Robinson appeared to be “a very normal young man, a very smart young man—for a student, I think a 34 on the ACT,” Cox added, noting that his turn happened after leaving Utah State University and moving back to southern Utah.
“Clearly there was a lot of gaming going on, friends have confirmed that there was that deep, dark internet, Reddit culture, and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep,” Cox said, citing the phrases on the shell casings that referred to gaming memes.
Robinson, 22, was taken into custody after he suggested to a family member that he committed the killing, Cox said Friday, and he is being held in a county jail in Spanish Fork, Utah, on initial charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice, a local police officer told CNN.
When his father asked Robinson about his possible involvement in the shooting, he reportedly told his father he would rather commit suicide than turn himself over to authorities, according to multiple outlets.
After urging him to turn himself in, Robinson’s father called a youth pastor to talk to him, and the pastor then contacted the U.S. Marshals, CNN reported, citing a law enforcement official.
Ahead of Kirk’s appearance at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Robinson had discussed Kirk’s upcoming visit to Utah with family members and “why they didn’t like him,” according to Cox, who said casings left with a gun believed to be used in the shooting were inscribed with “Hey fascist! Catch!” and, “If you read this you are gay lmao,” among other messages.
Cox said officials had uncovered physical evidence linking Robinson to the shooting, in addition to messages sent online to friends indicating a need to “retrieve a rifle from a drop point.”
Robinson had lived in Washington County, Utah—about 260 miles south of the shooting location—with his family, Cox said, and had attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021, the university confirmed in a statement.
Robinson was a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in St. George, Utah, a spokesperson for Utah Valley University told CNN.
There are no state or national public records associated with Robinson indicating he had a prior criminal record, NBC reported.
Multiple outlets cited voter records that showed Robinson was unaffiliated with any party. The records noted Robinson was considered “inactive,” suggesting he did not vote in the 2024 presidential election, which was the first election since he turned 18, the New York Times reported. A family member told law enforcement Robinson had “become more political in recent years,” Cox said. One of the unfired casings was engraved with “bella ciao,” Cox said, an apparent reference to a song used by an Italian anti-fascist resistance group during World War II. But the phrase was also featured in the Netflix series “Money Heist” and in popular single-player video game Far Cry 6, where users play guerrilla fighters attempting to take down a tyrannical dictator.
Robinson’s father runs a business installing kitchen countertops and cabinets, according to CBS News, which noted his mother works as a licensed social worker. The Washington County Sheriff's Office in Utah debunked claims the father was employed by the department.
The New York Times reported, citing a law enforcement official, that Robinson was taken into custody around 11 p.m. local time Thursday by Utah state and local police in St. George, Utah, near Zion National Park. Robinson was found wearing clothes similar to those seen in surveillance footage and he was tracked after his vehicle was identified on Utah Valley University’s campus, Cox said.
President Donald Trump announced Friday morning that an unnamed suspect was in custody during an appearance on Fox News, suggesting “somebody that was very close” to the suspect turned them in. Trump said he believed the shooting “seems to be” an isolated incident, and echoed Cox’s earlier calls for the suspect to face the death penalty if found guilty: “He’s going to be found guilty, I would imagine.”
Kirk, 31, was shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. A “person of interest” was detained shortly after but was released from custody after law enforcement determined they “did not match the shooting suspect,” while another suspect was later detained and released after interrogation, FBI Director Kash Patel said at the time. The FBI said Thursday that officials recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle believed to be used in the shooting, and released surveillance footage from the university showing a suspect wearing a T-shirt with an American flag, black shoes, sunglasses and a black hat. In the shooting’s aftermath, Trump claimed the “radical left” was “directly responsible” for Kirk’s death. Kirk, a right-wing political activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, hosted a daily radio show, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” and appeared periodically as a voice in culture wars on college campuses.
Correction (Sept. 12, 2025): A quote conveyed by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, saying Kirk was "full of hate and spreading hate," should have been attributed to a family member of Tyler Robinson.