Utah Governor Spencer Cox has claimed that Russian and Chinese bots are stoking “violence” online in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination. The conservative activist was shot dead on Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University, and officials have yet to catch the killer. Speaking at a press conference in Utah on Thursday to share new information about the person of interest in Kirk’s murder, Cox also addressed what he called a “tremendous amount of disinformation” online in the wake of the shooting. Admitting they are tracking the disturbing content on social media, Cox said, “What we’re seeing is our adversaries want violence. We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence.” He did not elaborate on the nature of the threats, but added, “We’ll have more to say about that in the days and weeks to come.” In the days since Kirk’s murder, social media has been flooded with conspiracy theories and online feuds, as well as graphic footage of Kirk’s death. President Donald Trump quickly blamed the “radical left” for the murder. The Governor suggested people “turn off those streams and spend a little more time with our families. We desperately need some healing.” Cox also confirmed that Utah will “pursue the death penalty in this case.”
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