Officials in Utah held a brief press conference late Wednesday afternoon to discuss the killing of TPUSA founder and Salem Radio Network talk show host Charlie Kirk. The details surrounding the shooting remain scant at this time, though, after some initial seeming contradiction regarding the status of the suspected shooter (FBI Director Kash Patel had posted that a subject was in custody moments before the press conference began), Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) confirmed that someone was in custody. Cox referred to that individual as a "person of interest." No doubt, we'll learn more in the coming hours and days.
RELATED: Here's What We Know About Charlie Kirk's Killer
But during the conference, Cox took the opportunity to address the assembled press and cameras, and his words were powerful:
JUST IN: Republican governor Spencer Cox of Utah says the killing of Charlie Kirk was a political assassination, and reminds viewers that Utah has the death penalty.
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) September 10, 2025
"I just want to remind you, we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah."
pic.twitter.com/H9nAECcRQd
"This is a dark day for our state. It's a tragic day for our nation. I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.
"We are celebrating 250 years of the founding of this great nation — that founding document, the Declaration of Independence, this great experiment on which we embarked together 250 years ago; that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights — the first one of those is life. And today, a life was taken.
"Charlie Kirk was first and foremost, a husband and a dad to two young children. He was also very much politically involved, and that’s why he was here on campus. Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate to shape ideas and to persuade people. Historically, our university campuses in this nation and here in the state of Utah have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated. And that’s what he does — he comes on college campuses and he debates. That is foundational to the formation of our country, to our most basic constitutional rights. And when someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very constitutional foundation is threatened.
"Now, we have a person of interest in custody; the investigation is ongoing. But I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this: We will find you, we will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah."
SEE ALSO: Rest in Peace, Charlie Kirk
Cox, in addition to recognizing the importance of Charlie's work, took a moment to encourage those listening to do a serious gut-check:
Governor Spencer Cox:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 10, 2025
"If anyone...celebrated even a little bit at the news of this shooting, I would beg you to look in the mirror and to see if you can find a better angel in there..." pic.twitter.com/30NgQry4ui
"If anyone in the sound of my voice celebrated even a little bit at the news of this shooting, I would beg you to look in the mirror and to see if you can find a better angel in there somewhere.
"I don’t care what his politics are. I care that he was an American. We desperately need our country. We desperately need leaders in our country. But more than the leaders, we just need every single person in this country to think about where we are and where we want to be — to ask ourselves: "Is this...is this it? Is this what 250 years has wrought on us?" I pray that that’s not the case. I pray that those who hated what Charlie Kirk stood for will put down their social media and their pens and pray for his family, and that all of us — all of us — will try to find a way to stop hating our fellow Americans."
Cox is absolutely right, though I fear those most in need of this message are those least likely to hear it. We can continue to pray that "the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped," even as we pray for Charlie's family, and for his eternal repose.
Update: Just as this article was publishing, FBI Director Patel gave a further update, indicating that the subject they'd taken into custody has been released. RedState will, of course, continue to follow the story and provide updates as they become available.
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