Utah Gov Spencer Cox Reminds America That State Still Has Death Penalty In Wake Of Charlie Kirk Assassination

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah reminded Americans Wednesday that the state still had the death penalty while reacting to the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

Kirk was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University in which he took questions from attendees. Cox appeared overcome with emotion at times during his remarks at a press conference to provide an update on the investigation. (RELATED: ‘I Did See Him Fall’: Former GOP Rep Gets Choked Up Describing Scene At Tragic Charlie Kirk Event)

“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,” Cox said. “Historically, our university campuses in this nation 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.”

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“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,” Cox continued.

Kirk founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), an organization for conservative college and high school students, in June 2012, according to the organization’s website. He also hosted “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a podcast that later became a three-hour radio show on the Salem Radio Network, according