Gov. Spencer Cox reflects on Charlie Kirk assassination in Turning Point USA’s Utah return

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox reflected on the day Charlie Kirk was killed – telling a panel during Turning Point USA’s return to the Beehive State that the assassination of the group’s founder “changed all of us.”

“It was a political assassination, and people were afraid to say that,” Cox said from the stage of  Utah State University, the very institution Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson attended for one semester.

The Republican governor recalled the moment he received a call from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was already in the Situation Room mere minutes after Kirk, 31, was gunned down on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.

“It changed all of us,” Cox said.

Cox assured that he was confident that the legal system would properly prosecute the assailant responsible for taking Kirk’s life.

“This was more than just an attack on Charlie Kirk. This was an attack on free speech, on America, on American ideals. It was treasonous.”

Tuesday’s modified panel of speakers also  featured Sen. Mike Lee–who submitted a pre-recorded speech–Rep. Andy Biggs and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

The quad of southwestern conservatives accompanied Alex Clark, the host of TPUSA’s health and wellness podcast “Culture Apothecary.”

Around 2:45 p.m. local time, just four hours ahead of the panel, one of the school’s administration buildings was evacuated “out of an abundance of caution” after a suspicious package was reported.

The package was “deemed to be a non-explosive device” and destroyed by the bomb squad that was already on campus as part of the heightened security presence ahead of the TPUSA event, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Swaths of armed law enforcement were on the USU campus Tuesday. The debate, like all other TPUSA events held since Kirk’s assassination, was moved indoors to effectively screen ticketed attendees.