By Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -With three words, Utah Governor Spencer Cox on Friday eased Americans’ fears about the fugitive suspected of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk: “We got him.”
Less than 48 hours after the horrific incident on Wednesday, and after Cox identified the 22-year-old suspect, the two-term Republican governor spoke passionately about the stakes of the attack and urged restraint going forward.
“The problem with political violence is it metastasizes, because we can
always point the finger at the other side," the governor said, "And at some point we have to find an off ramp, or it's going to get much, much worse.”
Cox's voice broke with emotion when he acknowledged his own anger and sadness, feelings shared by many who saw the gruesome videos of the attack that popped into social media feeds this week. In public statements during the manhunt, Cox had reminded Utahns that his state allowed for capital punishment and vowed to hold the suspect accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
Cox has a track record of urging civility in politics, though his state is dominated by his own Republican Party, which controls all Utah's seats in Congress and both chambers of the state legislature.
The governor on Friday specifically addressed young people, in a nod to Kirk’s political organization Turning Point USA, which is active on college campuses and played an important role in building a nascent conservative movement among young Americans -- who still overwhelmingly lean Democratic.
“To my young friends out there: you are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage. It feels like rage is the only option, but through those words, we have a reminder that we can choose a different path," Cox said. "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, 50, is a father of four, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and previously served as the state’s lieutenant governor.
Not unlike fellow Utahn, former U.S. Senator Mitt Romney, Cox has long been seen as a moderate Republican. He broke with many in his party last year when he signaled stronger state-level support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression.
After the July 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump on the campaign trail, Cox for the first time endorsed the president. Some in the state, like Brian King, Cox's Democratic rival in last year's gubernatorial election, said this endorsement was a capitulation to Trump, but the governor argued the endorsement was to push back on violence.
“Mr. President, I know we have some differences and you probably don’t like me much. And that’s OK. I get it,” Cox wrote to Trump in the endorsement letter last year, “Your life was spared. Now, because of that miracle, you have the opportunity to do something that no other person on earth can do right now: unify and save our country.”
SEEN AS A 'STATESMAN'
Cox's even tone this week was no surprise for other political leaders who worked closely with him.
“I think he’s been brilliant and I’m not surprised for one second,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, who recently served with Cox in leadership of the National Governors Association.
Murphy in a Friday interview called Cox a “statesman” and likened his actions this week to former U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy, who in 1968 broke the news to a largely Black audience in Indianapolis that Martin Luther King, Jr., had been killed.
At that time, Kennedy cautioned against violence and urged for “love and wisdom,” reading from a book of verses by the ancient Greek poet Aeschylus, who wrote, "In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
“You need leaders to be calm, resolute, not pointing fingers or blaming others, and pleading with fellow citizens to choose peace over violence,” Murphy said about Cox, “I love the guy and I’m incredibly proud of him, especially this week.”
Cox's factual updates in the shooting's aftermath contrasted with reaction from some Republican U.S. lawmakers as well as Trump who on Thursday told reporters it was time to "beat the hell" out of the "radical left."
"Every life taken is a child of God," Cox said on Friday, making a final appeal by referencing the namesake of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA.
“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, we get to make decisions. We have our agency,” Cox said.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, David Morgan, and Richard Cowan; Editing by Nick Zieminski)