The suspect accused of shooting dead right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was in a romantic relationship with his transgender roommate, Utah’s governor has said.
Tyler Robinson, 22, from Washington in Utah, is due to appear in court on Tuesday after Kirk, 31, was killed during one of his rallies at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Robinson is being held without bail on suspicion of aggravated murder, a felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice.
According to Utah’s Republican governor, Spencer James Cox, he was in a relationship with his roommate – who was in the process of transitioning.
“The roommate was a romantic partner,” he told NBC News’s Meet The Press on Sunday. “We can confirm that that roommate is a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female.”
He added that the roommate has been “incredibly cooperative” and had “no idea that this [the shooting] was happening”, but that Robinson has not been cooperating with police.
Kirk, who co-founded the conservative student movement Turning Point USA, regularly expressed anti-LGBTQ views.
The motive of the shooting is unclear, and officials have not said whether Robinson’s relationship – or his roommate’s gender – is relevant to their investigation.
Authorities are still trying to get access to cloud storage linked to Robinson, according to NBC.
Mr Cox has previously said the suspect came from a “conservative family, but his ideology was very different than his family”, adding in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he had been “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology”.
According to the governor, his relatives have said Robinson was critical of Kirk, saying he was “full of hate and spreading hate” and “talked about why he didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had”.
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The 22-year-old is due to be charged when he makes his first court appearance on Tuesday, according to the Utah County attorney’s office.
He was in his third year of an electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College in St George, Utah, NBC reported.
A spokesperson for Utah Valley University, where Kirk was speaking when he was shot in the neck, said Robinson studied there for one semester in 2021.
Kristin Schwiermann, a neighbour of his family’s, described him as “smart” and “quiet”, and added that he “never caused any problems”.
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Memorial to be held at Super Bowl venue
It was revealed on Sunday that a memorial to Kirk will be held at the stadium where the 2023 US Super Bowl was held.
State Farm Stadium, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, is home to the American football team the Arizona Cardinals and can hold 60,000 people.
President Donald Trump has said he plans to attend and will posthumously award Kirk with the highest US civilian honour – the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Kirk, who hosted his own self-titled podcast, had millions of followers on social media.
He was a regular visitor at the White House and has been credited with the increase in young men voting for Mr Trump at the 2024 presidential election.
