Governor Spencer Cox Says Tyler Robinson Was “Deeply Indoctrinated With Leftist Ideology”

As the days go on, it’s getting more and more clear that the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk was deeply involved in leftist ideology.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox has confirmed the reports and has now officially gone on record and shared investgators have concluded Robinson was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”

Cox’s report comes after it was revealed that the Robinson partner with whom he was living was transgender.

The Wall Street Journal covered Cox’s remarks in an exclusive interview:

Tyler Robinson was the pride of his Utah family. He was a 4.0 high-school student who won a prestigious college scholarship, according to social-media posts.

“His options are endless,” his mother wrote on Facebook.
Four years later, authorities say the 22-year-old Robinson used an old bolt-action rifle to fire a single shot that killed Charlie Kirk while the conservative activist spoke Wednesday at Utah Valley University. He allegedly had ammunition etched with phrases borrowed from internet and gaming culture like “Hey, fascist! Catch!” and “If you read this, you are gay, lmao.”

Authorities, friends and even his own family were trying to understand how Robinson went from a top student raised by parents who were registered Republicans in a Mormon stronghold in southwest Utah to a suspected assassin who authorities said targeted one of the country’s most popular conservative youth leaders. Robinson was in the past registered as nonpartisan.

Clinton Robinson, Tyler’s uncle, said that after authorities released surveillance photos of the shooting suspect, he showed an image to Tyler’s father, Matt Robinson. “I thought it looked like Tyler,” Clinton Robinson said in a text exchange Friday morning with a Wall Street Journal reporter. “Sounds like it was. My day just went to s—.”
“I have no idea why he did this,” he wrote.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said one of Tyler Robinson’s family members told investigators Tyler had become more political in recent years. The family member said at a recent dinner, Robinson and a second relative discussed Kirk’s coming outdoor event on the Utah Valley campus in Orem.

“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” Cox, a Republican, said at a news briefing Friday.

“It’s very clear to us and to the investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology,” Cox added in an interview with the Journal.

Cox said after the shooting, a relative contacted a family friend who told a sheriff’s office that Robinson had confessed to the killing or implied he had done it. Law-enforcement officials said the suspect’s father was involved in taking him into custody in Washington County, Utah. The governor thanked Robinson’s family for “doing the right thing.”

🚨 BREAKING: Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson’s roommate has been identified as 22 year old Lance Twiggs, amid reports Robinson was living with his “transgender partner,” per Daily Mail

Their families REFUSE to deny transgenderism was a motivating factor in the kiIIing.

We… pic.twitter.com/kjdlzI3aNl

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 13, 2025

The Daily Mail reported more on Robinson’s partner:

A 22-year-old wannabe professional gamer who lived with Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin gave cops incriminating text messages leading to his arrest.

Lance Twiggs turned over Tyler Robinson, who lived with him in a three-bedroom apartment in Saint George, Utah, Daily Mail can reveal.

Twiggs showed police texts from Robinson about stashing a gun linked to Wednesday’s shooting of the prominent conservative activist at Utah Valley University (UVU), a law enforcement affidavit said.

His identity was revealed as separate reports emerged from Fox and the New York Post which stated that Robinson was living with a ‘transgender partner’ who is co-operating with the investigation.

It is unclear if Twiggs is the same person referenced in the reports and he has not been named in the affidavit. His grandfather, Jerry Twiggs, told Daily Mail that he was unable to comment on rumors that he is trans and that there was a transgender motive to Kirk’s murder.

‘I don’t want to comment on that. I’m not sure what his situation is exactly right now,’ he said, adding that he had never met Robinson.

Jerry also confirmed his grandson had been talking with the police, but that he had not spoken to him since.

‘After he was with the police, he’s been at his house, and there’s no way for us to contact him other than going over there,’ he said.

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