Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of assassinating conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, is refusing to cooperate with investigators following the deadly shooting at Utah Valley University. Utah Governor Spencer Cox (Republican) confirmed that Robinson's transgender partner, who is transitioning from male to female, is assisting the FBI with the investigation.
"He is not cooperating, but all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that's very important," Governor Cox 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."
Robinson allegedly shot the 31-year-old father-of-two in the neck as Kirk spoke to an audience of 3,000 people at the university event. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent Trump ally, was sitting under a gazebo when he was fatally shot.
Evidence builds case
DNA evidence has linked Robinson to the crime scene through a towel wrapped around the rifle and a screwdriver found at the location. Investigators also discovered a pre-shooting note in which Robinson wrote: "I have the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it."
Officials found a bolt-action rifle with a scope, wrapped in a dark towel, along with bullet casings containing unusual inscriptions. One inscription read: "Notices bulges owo," while others included: "Hey fascist! Catch!" and "if you read this you are gay lmao."
Capital murder charges are expected to be filed against Robinson on Tuesday, according to court officials.
Discord platform disputes claims
Discord has disputed claims that their platform was used to plan the attack. The company stated they found "no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord."
A Discord spokesman said: "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."
Political motivation emerges
Family sources have confirmed that Robinson "subscribed to left-wing ideology" and had developed hatred for what Kirk represented, according to the Daily Star. Robinson's roommate showed investigators exchanges where "Tyler" described needing to get a "unique" rifle and mentioned engraving bullets and using a scope.
After the shooting, Robinson reportedly joked with friends on Discord when they noticed his resemblance to surveillance photos released by authorities, according to the Daily Mail.
Sources used: "Express", "Daily Mail", "Daily Star", "Independent", "The Standard" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
