Charlie Kirk’s murder suspect Tyler Robinson appears in anti-suicide vest as state seeks death penalty: Live updates

California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke about the loss of Charlie Kirk during a podcast with Brian Tyler Cohen and urged people to resist fear and division.

“I started a podcast not too many months ago, and Charlie Kirk was my first guest,” Newsom said.

“He was gracious enough, to not only say yes, he flew out to do it in person. And I spent not just the hour plus, in a very civil conversation with Charlie, I spent time with him after, and we stayed in touch, including my team. Stayed in touch pretty consistently.”

Newsom urged people to show gestures of “civility, one of grace and one of humanity. Common humanity.”

“The fact is, we had that opportunity to engage,” he said.

“It’s absolutely essential that we, in the spirit of this moment, hold ourselves to a higher level of civility and accountability— accountability to the moment we’re in and the consequences of giving in to cynicism and anxiety and fear,” he said.

The No. 2 official at the Department of Justice has doubled down on President Donald Trump’s claim that protesters who yelled at him while he was “trying to enjoy dinner” could face federal anti-racketeering charges that were designed to bust up organized crime.

Alex Woodward examines how Deputy AG Todd Blanche attempted to justify the use of RICO charges.

Beau Mason, the commissioner of Utah’s Department of Public Safety, told CNN Thursday he “absolutely” fears for the safety of suspected Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson’s roommate and family.

“ Do you fear for the roommate’s safety or the parent’s safety or anyone else’s, given how horrific this assassination was and how politically charged it all is?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Mason.

 Mason said, “We absolutely do. We’ve seen threats increase in the hours immediately following the shooting.

“We took one individual into custody and detained them as a person of interest. And then quickly ascertained they were not involved and released them. That individual was threatened and harassed just because they were questioned.”

“And so there’s no doubt in my mind that the family is feeling that pressure. The roommate is feeling that pressure,” the commissioner said.

No one else has been charged in connection with Kirk’s murder, and officials have said they believe Robinson acted alone.

The event is being put on by Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, located in Kirk’s adopted home state and the location of the group’s headquarters.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.

The Justice Department has clarified previous comments made by Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying they will not prosecute people for hate speech “alone.”

Bondi said on “The Katie Miller Podcast” Monday the DOJ would “absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”

In a statement to Axios Tuesday, Bondi clarified she was talking about criminal groups or people who incite violence.

“Freedom of speech is sacred in our country, and we will never impede upon that right,” Bondi said. “My intention was to speak about threats of violence that individuals incite against others.”

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, also confirmed on X Tuesday, “We are not prosecuting people for nasty speech alone — but true incitement to violence, or hate-motivated attacks, are illegal and will be treated as such by this DOJ!”

In the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week, President Donald Trump promised retribution against the “radical left” who he claims are undermining the American way of life through violence.

Before he departed for the United Kingdom for an official state visit, Trump doubled down on his remarks, saying, “Most of the violence is on the left.”

However, the president’s claims are not supported by data produced by the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is calling on the CEOs of Discord, Steam, Twitch, and Reddit to testify at a hearing on October 8.

The Kentucky Republican says the hearing will “examine the radicalization of online forum users, including instances of open incitement to commit politically motivated acts.”

Charlie Kirk’s alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, is said to have been radicalized online.

The network’s chief national correspondent, Matt Gutman, has received a wave of backlash for on-air comments he made Tuesday immediately after a press conference, where Utah prosecutors revealed alleged texts Tyler Robinson, 22, sent his roommate following the shooting one week ago.

Rhian Lubin has the story.

Pope Leo XIV has told the new United States ambassador to the Holy See that he is praying for slain activist Charlie Kirk and his family.

“The pope confirmed that he is praying for Charlie Kirk,” spokesman Matteo Bruni said in comments reported by Vatican News.

Leo also “expressed concern about political violence and spoke of the need to refrain from rhetoric and exploitation that lead to polarization rather than dialogue,” Bruni said.