UT Gov Calls For End To Violence, Admits Praying Kirk Killer Was From Another Country

India-West News Desk

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Utah Governor Spencer Cox did not hide the starkness of his private thoughts while talking to the press here, on September 12 following the arrest of the killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

 “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. 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,’” he said.

Speaking with FBI Director Kash Patel standing behind him, the statement drew immediate backlash online. One asked, “He wanted it to be an illegal immigrant?” Another wanted to know how he missed the irony of with Patel, a child of immigrants, present there. Yet another declared, Cox wanted the shooter of Charlie Kirk to be from a Blue state.

But Cox also, unlike President Donald Trump, called on all, especially the younger generation—to reject violence and foster a better culture.

Emotionally, Cox addressed the ongoing investigation and the wider implications of political violence. “We can return violence with fire and violence. We can return hate with hate. And that’s the problem with political violence, it metastasizes, because we can always point the finger at the other side. At some point, we have to find an off-ramp, or it’s going to get much, much worse. These are choices that we can make,” he said.

Cox also spoke directly to young Americans: “You have an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now. We need to reject the cycles of anger and retaliation and create something better.”

Authorities confirmed the arrest of Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident, after being turned in by his father. Robinson has been charged with the murder of Kirk while the activist was speaking at Utah Valley University, where he had been invited by the campus chapter of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization he founded.

Robinson’s father recognized his son in circulated photographs and contacted authorities after hearing radical statements, leading to Robinson’s arrest without incident.

Kirk, a close ally of former President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, had played a pivotal role in mobilizing young voters and shaping conservative youth activism. Both Cox and Trump have indicated that they will seek the death penalty, with Utah being the only state that still provides for execution by firing squad. (with inputs from IANS)