Charlie Kirk Shooting Suspect Tyler Robinson Refusing To Cooperate With Authorities, Governor Says

The suspect in the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is refusing to cooperate with authorities, Utah Governor Spencer Cox has said.

Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested last week after a family member recognized a photo of him and convinced him to hand himself over to law enforcement.

In an interview on Sunday, Cox told Martha Raddatz on ABC News' This Week that Robinson has not confessed to the murder and is not cooperating.

“He has not confessed to authorities. He is not cooperating, but all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that's very important,” Cox said.

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck and killed on September 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.

Robinson is alleged to have driven three hours to the campus, climbed on top of a roof and used a Mauser model 98 bolt-action rifle with a scope mounted on it to fire a single shot at Kirk.

Cox was asked on This Week about his previous comment that Robinson was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”

“Well, so far that -- that has come from his acquaintance and his family members. That's where that initial information has come from,” he told Raddatz.

“Certainly, there will be much more information that is released in the charging documents as they're bringing all of that together.”

Authorities have confirmed that Robinson’s partner was transitioning from male to female but do not know if this is relevant to the investigation.

There is still no determined motive for Kirk’s murder.

The New York Times reported that Robinson had allegedly made jokes about being the shooter after Kirk’s assassination on Discord.

Robinson reportedly wrote that his “doppleganger” was “trying to get him in trouble” after a friend suggested he looked like the suspect in released FBI photos.

“All we can confirm is that those conversations definitely were happening, and they did not believe it was actually him. It was, it was all joking until, until he, you know, until he admitted that it actually was him,” Cox said.

Charges against Robinson are expected to be filed on Tuesday, September 16, and further information will be available then.

In recent days, Cox has called out politically motivated violence and urged people on both sides of the political spectrum to choose kindness over hate.

Following Kirk’s murder, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered flags to be lowered at half-staff and posthumously awarded him the Medal of Freedom.

The response was in stark contrast to how he reacted when Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were murdered earlier this year.

When asked about Trump blaming the radical left for Kirk’s assassination and not commenting on violence against Democrats, Cox said the president was very angry.

“Well, look, President Trump is very angry, and Charlie is his close personal friend,” Cox said. “There is a lot of anger, a lot of anger on the right, on my side of the aisle. And I've certainly felt that.

“And in this case, it does appear that that's true. Again, more, more information is coming and we'll learn more over time.”

“You know, I don't know that that matters as much as the radicalization piece. I brought up the Democrats who were assassinated recently. And how quickly we move on from these things,” he added.

“But, the body count is, is piling up. And so I'm so concerned about this radicalization piece. And that's what we're trying to understand. Again, this person made a choice, and it was this person's choice. And this person will be held responsible.”