Kirk Assassin Not Cooperating with Authorities

Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah, said Sunday that Tyler Robinson, Charlie Kirk's alleged killer, was not cooperating with authorities.

"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 told ABC's "This Week" host Martha Raddatz.

Cox was also asked about a report in The New York Times about the alleged shooter's messages on Discord. Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday while speaking at a campus event in Utah.

"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 he… admitted that it actually was him," Cox said.

Cox told the Wall Street Journal the suspect was "deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology," according to an interview published Friday.

Raddatz pressed Cox for evidence supporting the claim.

"So far, that has come from his acquaintances and his family members," he said.

Authorities arrested Robinson on Thursday after a family member contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had implied or confessed to committing the shooting, Cox said Friday.

Cox told NBC News on Sunday that Robinson appeared to grow more politically radical after dropping out of Utah State University.

"It seemed to happen kind of after that – after he moved back to the southern part of Utah. Clearly, there was a lot of gaming going on, friends that have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark internet, Reddit culture and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep. You saw that on the casings… the memeification that is happening in our society today," he told NBC News.

Raddatz asked Cox what needed to happen for this moment to become a turning point in history, referencing his remarks Friday that described the shooting as a watershed moment.

"You know, right now we are in a dark place. Everybody gets that, I think. And we have choices. In my political philosophy and in my religious philosophy, we believe in agency – that every one of us gets to make our own decisions," he said. "Can we do good in our neighborhood? Can we hug a family member? Can we talk to a neighbor we disagree with? That’s up to us. That’s the only way out. There’s nothing else we can do to solve this dark chapter in our history."