Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is under criticism for his remarks following the arrest of the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“And for 33 hours, 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,” Cox said during a press conference.
“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, Utah is a special place.’”
Critics questioned why Cox’s prayers focused on the shooter’s identity rather than condemning the act of violence itself.
Social media responses highlighted the backlash:
- X user @hng2wiusa tweeted: “We can’t make this up folks! Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) prayed it wasn’t a White MAGA from his state that killed Charlie Kirk, but as it turned out, his prayer failed.”
- X user @kevin_keagan wrote: “Without shame and fear of backlash, Utah Governor Spencer Cox: ‘My racist prayer wasn’t answered.’”
Cox also noted that there was no looting, rioting, or property destruction in the aftermath.
“There was no violence. There were vigils and prayers,” he said, later urging both political parties to “lower the temperature” and warning that the cycle of division and rage could worsen.
Authorities confirmed that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a Caucasian male, turned himself in on Friday after his father provided tips that led to the arrest.
