Washington DC - The man arrested over conservative influencer Charlie Kirk's assassination was romantically involved with a transgender roommate and had "leftist ideology," Utah's governor said Sunday, confirming details likely to inflame the contentious national debate over the killing.

"Yes, I can confirm that," Governor Spencer Cox told CNN's State of the Union talk show when asked about suspect Tyler Robinson's reported relationship with a trans partner.

"The roommate was a romantic partner, a male transitioning to a female," Cox said.

"This partner has been incredibly cooperative, had no idea that this was happening, and is working with investigators right now," he added.

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Cox, who said 22-year-old Robinson is expected to be formally charged Tuesday, went on to stress it was not yet clear whether the partner's transitioning was part of the alleged shooter's mindset to kill Kirk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump.

"Again, all of these things – we're trying to figure out," he said.

Cox, who earned praise this past week for urging Americans to lower the toxic political temperature, made the rounds of US networks Sunday and told NBC talk show Meet the Press that investigators believed Robinson had embraced leftist beliefs.

"There clearly was a leftist ideology with this – with this assassin," Cox said.

He said that such information about Robinson, who has not been cooperating, was told to investigators by "people around him, from his family members and friends."

Several media outlets on Saturday reported Robinson's relationship with a transgender individual, sparking fury by far-right activists for whom gender identity issues have been a key focus in recent years.

Laura Loomer, a conservative influencer who has Trump's ear, on Saturday called "to designate the Trans movement as a terrorist movement" while X-owner Elon Musk elevated multiple posts calling for gender treatment bans and denouncing leftist ideology.

Cox, meanwhile, reiterated a call for civility across the political spectrum, while attacking social media giants by comparing their addictive algorithms to the deadly drug fentanyl.