After a connection to ‘trans ideology’ was retracted, suspect’s background and politics are being pored over
After a connection to ‘trans ideology’ was retracted, suspect’s background and politics are being pored over
Though the suspect in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was revealed by authorities on Friday, questions surrounding his identity and motivations have exacerbated intense US political debates in the aftermath of the shooting.
Authorities revealed Kirk’s suspected killer to be Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old man who grew up in Washington, Utah, along the state’s south-western border.
In absence of a clear motive for the slaying, reports have tried to piece together information about Robinson and his background. He is a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in the state. Both of his parents are registered Republicans, though his personal political beliefs remain unclear. Now-deleted pictures on social media show Robinson and his family posing with guns.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Saturday, Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, said: “It’s very clear to us and to investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.” Cox cited the findings of the ongoing investigation into Robinson and his possible motive but did not provide any further details about how officials arrived at that conclusion.
Those remarks from Cox were published a day after he delivered a speech following Robinson’s arrest where he had a candid moment about Robinson’s identity as a Utahn.
“Bad stuff happens, and for 33 hours, I was praying that if this had to happen here, it wouldn’t be one of us,” Cox said. “That somebody drove from another state, somebody came from another country. Sadly, that prayer was not answered the way I hoped for.”
He went on to explain that it would have been “easier on us” if the suspect weren’t from the community.
