JULY 6, 2026
Preliminary hearing begins for Tyler Robinson, accused of killing Charlie Kirk, as prosecutors present evidence for trial
A multiday preliminary hearing began Monday for Tyler Robinson, 23, the man charged with aggravated murder in the September 10, 2025, fatal shooting of conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Prosecutors are presenting evidence — including DNA findings, surveillance footage, ballistics, and a roommate's recorded statement — to establish probable cause for trial. Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, are attending the hearing, which is the first time the family has been in the courtroom with the defendant.
The hearing, scheduled to span several days before Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf in Provo, marks the most substantial public presentation of evidence in the case since Robinson surrendered to authorities the day after Kirk was shot. Prosecutors are not required to prove guilt at this stage — only to demonstrate reasonable grounds to believe Robinson committed the crime, a standard legal observers described as a low bar. Mark Kouris, a former Utah prosecutor and state judge now teaching at the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law, told the Associated Press the threshold amounts to roughly a 51% likelihood and that the chances of the case not proceeding to trial are "almost nothing."
Kirk was shot in the neck on September 10, 2025, as he addressed a crowd of approximately 3,000 people in a UVU campus courtyard during the kickoff of his "The American Comeback" national tour. Surveillance cameras captured a person in dark clothing on a nearby rooftop before the shooting; investigators later found a Mauser Model 98 .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel in nearby woods, containing one spent round and three unspent rounds, each engraved with messages, according to charging documents. DNA consistent with Robinson's was found on the rifle's trigger, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges, and the towel, prosecutors said.
A central piece of the prosecution's case is a recorded statement from Robinson's roommate, described in court documents also as his romantic partner, to whom Robinson allegedly sent a text message confession after the shooting. According to charging documents, Robinson had left a handwritten note under the roommate's keyboard reading, "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it." In subsequent messages, Robinson allegedly wrote: "I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated." Robinson's attorneys challenged the use of the recorded statement, arguing Robinson should have the right to confront the witness in person; Judge Graf said the opportunity to challenge witness credibility would come at a later stage.