Utah Governor Laments He Can’t Blame an Immigrant for Kirk’s Death

Utah Governor Spencer Cox expressed regret on Friday that he was unable to blame Charlie Kirk’s assassination on an immigrant.

At a press conference, the Republican governor spoke about the ongoing investigation into the conservative activist’s death.

“For 33 hours, I was … I was praying that if this had to happen here, that it wouldn’t be one of us. That somebody drove from another state, somebody came from another country,” he said. “Sadly, that prayer was not answered the way I hoped for. Just because I thought it would make it easier on us if we could just say ‘Hey, we don’t do that here.’”

The Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, just said, "For the last 33 hours, I had been praying that this person (who murdered Charlie Kirk) was from another country. That he was not one of us because we are not like that. But it was one of us." pic.twitter.com/WhJqIHnz7v

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 12, 2025

The alleged shooter certainly seems to be one of them, though there’s still a lot we don’t know. Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident, was detained Thursday evening for Kirk’s Wednesday murder after his father turned him in.

The FBI reported that the suspect had inscribed the bullet casings with the phrases, “Hey fascists! Catch!” with an up arrow, a right arrow and three down arrows, the phrase, “If you read this, you are gay LMAO,” and the lyrics to “Bella Ciao,” a song created by Italian antifascists after World War II that has gained popularity in video games like Far Cry 6 and Heart of Iron 4.

Cox’s comments were quickly rebuked online. “I was hoping we could blame this on immigrants, or at least a minority. Turns out it was one of us unfortunately,” one user posted mockingly. “Kind of a weird thing to pray for,” another said.