A preliminary hearing is scheduled in Utah, where prosecutors will lay out their evidence against Tyler James Robinson.
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PROVO, Utah — Prosecutors are expected to present the clearest view yet this week into their case against the 23-year-old accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, appearing in a state courtroom for a preliminary hearing to establish whether authorities have “probable cause” to believe the defendant is guilty.
The hearing, expected to take several days, is set to unfold a few miles from the college campus where Kirk was fatally shot as he held one of the debate-style events for which he was famous.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for defendant Tyler James Robinson, who — according to law enforcement — told a roommate he had had enough of Kirk’s “hatred.” Kirk built a following as a conservative provocateur who jousted with liberals on college campuses, founding the activist group Turning Point USA and eventually becoming an influential ally to President Donald Trump.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
Kirk’s killing on Sept. 10 intensified fears of political violence in a country already on edge. It came months after the fatal shooting of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband — and about a year after multiple attempts to assassinate then-presidential candidate Trump.
Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other Republican leaders mourned Kirk as a leading MAGA voice, while Kirk’s wife, Erika, took over leadership of Turning Point and has sought to continue his movement. Erika Kirk will attend this week’s hearing along with Charlie Kirk’s parents, according to a person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private plans.
“Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children,” members of Kirk’s family said in a joint statement ahead of the hearing, adding that out of “respect for the judicial process, we will not be commenting further at this time.”
The preliminary hearing could feature recorded statements from Robinson’s roommate. Officials say Robinson confessed over text to the roommate — who was also a romantic partner — and turned himself in after his parents grew suspicious and confronted him.
Robinson’s defense had argued that the roommate should have to testify in person and face cross-examination. But Judge Tony Graf said the prosecution could use recordings in the preliminary hearing.
Authorities have already sketched out their case against Robinson in court documents. Robinson, they say, had “accused Kirk of spreading hate” ahead of the shooting and — in his mother’s telling — had grown more political over the past year, becoming more liberal and “trans-rights oriented.”
Before traveling to Kirk’s campus event at Utah Valley University, officials said, Robinson left a note.
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“I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” the note read, according to charging documents.
Officials say surveillance video shows their suspect heading to a roof where they believe he opened fire just as Kirk answered a question about shootings by transgender people. Kirk was struck in the neck in a gory scene that quickly went viral.
Robinson’s parents began to suspect he might be involved when law enforcement released a suspect photo that they thought resembled their son, court documents state. Confronted by his father, Robinson “implied that he was the shooter,” court documents state; soon, he turned himself in.
Before he was taken into custody, Robinson texted his roommate telling him to check for the note under a keyboard, officials say. The roommate appeared shocked by the note targeting Kirk, responding, “What?????????????? You’re joking, right????”
Asked why he did it, Robinson wrote to the roommate that “I had enough of his hatred,” court documents say.
Authorities said the roommate cooperated with police.
Law enforcement also recovered a rifle left in the woods off campus that had DNA consistent with Robinson’s on the trigger, officials said.
Less is known about how Robinson’s defense will approach the case, and the preliminary hearing could help them get a clearer sense of the prosecution’s arguments.
Kirk’s death has spawned conspiracy theories on both the right and the left, frustrating those closest to the 31-year-old activist. Erika Kirk has begged the promoters of those conspiracy theories to stop.
It’s not clear that more information about the evidence against Robinson can sway the influencers who have spent months questioning the case.
“Nothing would convince them because they are not people who want to be convinced,” Blake Neff, one of Kirk’s friends, wrote on X ahead of the preliminary hearing.
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