Cox calls for end to political violence, says younger generation has opportunity to ‘embrace our differences’ for the better

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called for an end to political violence while sharing news about an apprehended suspect in the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

“I don’t want to get too preachy, but I think it’s important that we, with eyes wide open, understand what’s happening in our country today,” Cox said Friday morning at a press conference.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, why are we so invested in this?’” he said of Kirk’s assassination. “There’s political violence happening all across our country, and violence is tragic everywhere, and every life taken is a child of God who deserves our love and respect and dignity.”

Cox announced Friday that the suspect accused of killing Kirk had been apprehended and booked into Utah County Jail. He was named as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a resident of Washington County.

Kirk’s death and the fallout in the days since has reignited a conversation about the increase of political violence across the country. Many have pointed to the June murder of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hoffman, a Democrat, and her husband, as well as the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump while on the campaign trail last year.

While the investigation is still in its early stages and the suspect’s motive remains largely unknown to the public, discourse online has highlighted partisan differences in the reaction to Kirk’s death.

Cox’s message to end political violence, change the course of history

“This is certainly about the tragic death … political assassination of Charlie Kirk, but it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals,” Cox said. “This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, of who we have been and who we could be in better times.”

Cox noted that Kirk often championed freedom of expression, debating people who disagreed with him. By Kirk being killed, freedom of expression across the country will become more difficult and others will feel discouraged about sharing their ideas and speaking freely, he said.

“We will never be able to solve all the other problems, including the violence problems that people are worried about, if we can’t have a clash of ideas safely and securely … especially those ideas with which you disagree,” Cox said. “That is why this matters so much.”

Cox had a message for the young people of Utah and across the country, particularly because Kirk had amassed such a following among the younger generation and spent his career and organization focused on young voters.

“To my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage. It feels like rage is the only option,” he said, highlighting Kirk’s message of human connection. “But through those words, we have a reminder that we can choose a different path.”

“Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now. Not by pretending differences don’t matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations,” Cox continued.

Cox said there is one person responsible for what happened to Kirk and that person is in custody and soon will be charged and held accountable.

“And yet, all of us have an opportunity right now to do something different,” he said.

The governor highlighted the vigils and community togetherness that Utahns showed in the days since the shooting.

“We can return hate with hate. And that’s the problem with political violence, is it metastasizes, because we can always point the finger at the other side,” he said. “And at some point, we have to find an off-ramp or it’s going to get much, much worse.”

Cox called on Americans, no matter their political beliefs or partisan divide, to choose to change the course of history and the rise of political violence in the United States.

“These are choices that we can make. History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country, but every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us,” Cox said.

Other leaders weigh in

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, one of the largest youth conservative activist organizations in the country, was a staunch supporter of Trump’s. He became a controversial figure when touring the college campuses to debate ideas with students, which could sometimes become heated and have often gone viral online. Kirk was at Utah Valley University on Wednesday to kick off his “American Comeback Tour,” where he hosted his “Prove Me Wrong” debate session.

In a video message on Wednesday evening after confirming Kirk’s death, Trump called on the American public and the media to “confront the fact that violence and murder” over political disagreements is wrong. He said that the “radical left” compared Kirk to a Nazi and claimed that rhetoric was “directly responsible” for the “terrorism” the country sees today.

Other political leaders, like former President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris, condemned the political violence and said it has no place in the United States.