WASHINGTON: The man arrested over conservative influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination was romantically involved with a transgender roommate and had “leftist ideology,” Utah’s governor said on Sunday, confirming details likely to inflame the contentious national debate over the killing.

“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, who said 22-year-old Robinson is expected to be formally charged on Tuesday, went on to stress it was not yet clear whether the partner’s transitioning was part of the alleged shooter’s mindset to kill Kirk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump.

Turning Point USA says President Donald Trump is expected to attend a memorial service for the late leader in Phoenix on Sept 21

“Again, all of these things — we’re trying to figure out,” he said. Cox, who earned plaudits this past week for urging Americans to lower the toxic political temperature, made the rounds of US networks on Sunday and told NBC talk show “Meet the Press” that investigators believed Robinson had embraced leftist beliefs. “There clearly was a leftist ideology with this — with this assassin,” Cox said.

He said such information about Robinson, who has not been cooperating, was told to investigators by “people around him, from his family members and friends.” Several US media outlets on Saturday reported Robinson’s relationship with a transgender individual, sparking fury by far-right activists for whom gender identity issues have been a key focus in recent years.

Laura Loomer, a conservative influencer who has Trump’s ear, called on Saturday “to designate the Trans movement as a terrorist movement,” while X-owner Elon Musk elevated multiple posts calling for gender treatment bans and denouncing leftist ideology.

On Saturday he went further, telling a London march organised by far-right activists that “the left is the party of murder.” Cox meanwhile reiterated a call for civility across the political spectrum, while attacking social media giants by comparing their addictive algorithms to the deadly drug fentanyl.

Kirk was shot on Wednesday during a speaking event on a Utah university campus. He was the founder of the conservative youth political group Turning Point USA and was a strong critic of the transgender rights movement. Turning Point USA announced that a memorial service for Kirk will take place in a football stadium near Phoenix, Arizona on Sept 21, which Trump is expected to attend.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2025