Tyler James Robinson, the 23-year-old accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
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Tyler James Robinson, the 23-year-old accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk, will stand trial for murder charges that could carry the death penalty, a judge ruled on Tuesday.
Robinson is charged with killing Kirk while the activist addressed students at Utah Valley University last September. Prosecutors are seeking capital punishment in a case that shocked the country and deepened fears of political violence.
The Utah judge overseeing Robinson’s case, Tony Graf, ruled Tuesday that there is enough evidence to proceed to a trial on charges including aggravated murder — the only form of murder for which Utah allows the death penalty.
His ruling followed a preliminary hearing that previewed the arguments from both sides. Prosecutors say surveillance footage, DNA evidence and Robinson’s own confessions show that he shot Kirk.
Robinson returned to state court on Tuesday in Provo, Utah, less than two weeks before the first anniversary of Kirk’s death. He pleaded not guilty on all charges Tuesday after the judge’s ruling.
Kirk, who died at 31, built a national profile challenging liberals to debates on college campuses and was mourned as a leading voice in Republican politics. A controversial figure who relished clashes with his critics, he became a close ally to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Prosecutors are seeking to prove that Robinson targeted Kirk because of his political beliefs. Robinson confessed to the shooting in texts to his then-partner, officials say, and wrote that he had enough of Kirk’s “hatred.”
Following a week of testimony in July, Robinson was back in state court in Provo on Tuesday for closing arguments on whether the case should advance to a trial.
“The evidence is overwhelming,” Utah County prosecutor Ryan McBride said in court Tuesday.
The defense focused on disputing aggravating factors in the charges that could result in a harsher sentence, rather than asserting that Robinson is innocent. They argued the prosecution had not provided sufficient evidence that Robinson knowingly created a great risk of death to someone besides Kirk — the justification for the aggravated murder charge.
But the judge said there was enough evidence to try Robinson on all the charges sought by the prosecution, including witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
Much of the information presented in the preliminary hearing was already public, but the hearing offered more insight into Robinson’s mindset and conversations with other people. Prosecutors played a video interview in which Robinson’s ex-romantic partner said the defendant confessed to the killing and expressed regret.
“He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it,” said the partner, Lance Twiggs, who was also Robinson’s roommate at the time of the shooting.
Robinson left a note for Twiggs to discover under a keyboard, authorities say. “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” the note allegedly read.
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Prosecutors also presented photos of text messages between Robinson and Twiggs. Twiggs cooperated with law enforcement and is not facing charges.
At first, Robinson suggested he could evade arrest, according to the texts shown in court. He told Twiggs he had been planning the attack for about a week and would not leave any evidence behind if he managed to retrieve his rifle from the woods where he left it.
“Needless to say imma be late coming home, my b,” the defendant wrote, using slang for “my bad.”
But prosecutors say Robinson left plenty of clues linking him to the crime. They recovered the rifle that they say Robinson used to shoot Kirk from a rooftop; DNA consistent with Robinson’s was on the trigger, authorities said.
As law enforcement appealed to the public for help identifying the suspect — who was captured on surveillance video — Robinson’s parents grew concerned the pictures resembled their son, according to charging documents. Robinson eventually implied to them that he was a shooter, the court documents state, and agreed to turn himself in.
Robinson has been mostly impassive in court. Kirk’s wife and parents have watched the proceedings from the gallery, joined at times by prominent political figures including the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, now leads the organization he founded, Turning Point USA, a conservative group focused on mobilizing young people.
The Kirk family said in a statement Tuesday that the decision to move to a trial “marks an important step in our family’s pursuit of justice for him.”
A representative for the family emphasized the importance of a speedy trial.
Prosecutors allege that Robinson targeted Kirk for his political expression and carried out the shooting in the presence of children — two elements that, if proved at trial, could affect Robinson’s sentencing. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty.
McBride, the Utah County prosecutor, focused Tuesday on Kirk’s views on LGBTQ issues as he laid out a motive. Kirk was an outspoken critic of homosexuality and transgender people, he said, and the defendant’s romantic partner was transitioning genders. Kirk was answering a question about shootings by transgender people when the shooter opened fire.
“It’s not difficult to understand the motive here,” McBride said.
Defense attorneys argued the prosecution was jumping to conclusions about a motive. They also sought to remove the possibility of capital punishment, saying prosecutors had not shown that Robinson threatened people besides Kirk.
In other cases that involved threats to a third party, “we’re looking at multiple gunshots,” defense lawyer Staci Visser said. “We’re looking at verbal threats. We’re looking at pointing a firearm at someone.”
Graf, the judge, said he took 24 pages of notes throughout Tuesday’s proceedings and spent an hour deliberating.
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A trial date has not yet been set.
