In Utah, a preliminary hearing spanning a week has commenced for the suspect accused of the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
This week, prosecutors are tasked with persuading a state judge that there is sufficient evidence against Tyler Robinson, aged 23, to move the case forward to trial.
Robinson faces a charge of aggravated murder in connection with the assassination of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus last September. In the courtroom for the first time were Kirk’s parents and widow, Erika Kirk, as well as Donald Trump Jr., the son of former President Donald Trump.
This hearing stands as the most pivotal presentation of evidence in this case to date. Upon conclusion, State District Judge Tony Graf will decide whether the case is fit to proceed to trial.
Here are the latest developments:
Judge allows statement verifying video of event from woman who isn’t in court
David Sturgill with the Utah County Attorney’s Office is asking former State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hill to describe the evidence he collected during the shooting investigation.
Hull says phone tips from members of the public poured in, along with many cellphone videos of the shooting taken by people who attended the event. Prosecutors want to present some of those videos, including one from a woman who also wrote a statement confirming she took it.
But defense attorney Kathryn Nester has objected to the video and the written statement, saying they shouldn’t be admitted in part because the woman isn’t present in court to testify about them. It’s difficult for the court to assess a witness’s reliability when the witness isn’t there to be cross-examined, Nester says.
State District Judge Tony Graf says the evidence is allowable under a rule governing “reliable hearsay.”
Officer’s body camera battery apparently died shortly after the shooting
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester asked former Utah Valley University police Officer Chris Bagley about security plans, body camera footage and any evidence found on the day Charlie Kirk was shot.
Bagley said he wasn’t given any tactical or operational plans before the event.
After the shooting, Bagley looked on the roof of the Losee building, but says he didn’t find any spent casings at that point. His body camera stopped recording while he was on the roof.
“I think my battery died. I don’t know,” Bagley says. He didn’t go back to the roof once his body camera was charged because it was too chaotic, he said.
He has about 27 minutes of body camera footage from that day, Bagley said.
State investigator describes leading the investigation into Kirk’s shooting
Hull, who now works for the Utah Department of Public Safety, says he investigated major crimes when he worked for the State Bureau of Investigation.
He explained how SBI helps other law enforcement agencies process crime scenes and investigate after serious incidents.
Hull says he wasn’t familiar with Charlie Kirk or Utah Valley University before he was asked to help with the shooting investigation. He was eventually tasked with leading the investigation.
Utah state investigator takes the stand
Former Utah Valley University police Officer Chris Bagley is done testifying.
David Hull, a former Utah State Bureau of Investigation agent, is called to the stand.
Preliminary hearing resumes after lunch break
Court is back in session for Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing after an hourlong lunch break.
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester is expected to continue her cross-examination of former Utah Valley University police Officer Chris Bagley.
Members of the press are camped outside the courthouse
Television crews, photographers and writers are camped outside the Fourth Judicial District Courthouse in Provo, Utah.
Seats inside the courtroom are limited, so many members of the press are covering Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing from the sidewalks outside. They’re watching the building entrances to see who is coming and going, hoping for any opportunity to interview those involved with the case.
Security is tight, and surveillance teams can be seen on rooftops. A drone buzzes overhead occasionally.
Charlie Kirk’s parents and his widow, Erika Kirk, are at the hearing today. So is Donald Trump Jr. and far-right influencer Jack Posobiec.
Robinson’s parents have also been attending the hearing.
The court breaks for lunch
The judge has called a break for lunch. Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing will resume after the hourlong break.
Utah is an ‘open carry’ gun law state
Utah is an open carry state, former Utah Valley University police Officer Chris Bagley told defense attorney Kathryn Nester.
Utah state laws allow adults to carry guns openly or conceal them without a permit, though there are restrictions for people ages 18 to 20.
There are some exceptions at public colleges, however. Utah Valley University says it follows state law and allows gun owners to carry a concealed firearm if they have a permit.
Nester is questioning Bagley about the report he wrote after the shooting, including his observation about finding an empty pistol holster on the ground after the crowd fled.
Bagley acknowledged that he never took custody of the holster and doesn’t know if it was ever fingerprinted.
Defense begins cross-examination of former university officer
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester is cross-examining former Utah Valley University police Officer Chris Bagley.
She asked Bagley if he ever attended a meeting to discuss how officers would keep people safe on the day of the shooting. Bagley said he did not.
Bagley said there were six officers working that day. Thousands of people attended the event.
There were no metal detectors being used to screen the crowd, and no drones being used for security, Bagley said.
He also said there were no law enforcement officers on the roof, stairway or walkway when he arrived to work that day.
Officer describes seeing a ‘sniper pad’ disturbance in gravel rooftop
Former Utah Valley University police Officer Chris Bagley says he saw a disturbance in the gravel rooftop of the Losee building that looked like a “sniper pad,” where someone might have been lying in a position that would allow them to shoot a weapon.
The disturbance included spots that looked like they were made by two elbows and two knees, as well as a spot where someone might have laid a gun down. Bagley says he put police tape around the scene to keep people from going near it.
He then realized that they probably did not have a shooter in custody, Bagley said, and so called to have the building searched and secured.
Bagley also went to watch some surveillance video, which showed an individual run to the edge of the roof and drop down. He found a shoe print in the grass on the north-east side of the building, he said.
Preliminary hearing resumes after break
Court is back in session after a 15-minute break. Judge Tony Graf is talking to attorneys about how exhibits are being handled in court.
Charlie Kirk’s parents and widow left the courtroom before the shooting was described
The three of them walked out of the courtroom about a minute after former Utah Valley University police officer Chris Bagley started testifying about Kirk’s arrival on campus the day he was shot.
Kirk’s mother, Kathryn Kirk, clutched a pocket-sized packet of tissues. She had been listening to the proceedings with her head bowed and eyes closed. Widow Erika Kirk had been leaning her head on the shoulder of a blonde woman sitting to her right.
Defendant Tyler Robinson has meanwhile been sitting quietly between his attorneys at the defense table, looking at the exhibits on a monitor and occasionally taking notes. He’s wearing a gray suit, a pale pink shirt, and a tie, with his wrists shackled to a chain around his waist.
Bagley says he spotted something ‘out of place’ on a rooftop
Before a 15-minute recess Monday, former Utah Valley University police officer Chris Bagley said that shortly after the shooting last September, he ran up a public staircase to reach the roof of the Losee Center building, which he knew had a clear line of sight to the location where Charlie Kirk was sitting when he was shot.
On the roof, he spotted something “that looked out of place to me,” Bagley said. It was a red-and-black screwdriver.
Officer describes hearing a shot and chaos erupting
Bagley says he could see the right side of Charlie Kirk as the conservative activist spoke on campus.
Kirk was answering a question when Bagley heard a gunshot, he said, and chaos erupted.
People got up and started running.
Within a few moments, Bagley says he heard officers over the radio say that someone was in custody, so he began assessing the crowd for injuries.
Then he began working to “preserve the crime scene,” Bagley said.
He spotted a pistol holster that had been left on the ground, but knew that he had heard a rifle shot rather than a pistol shot, Bagley added.
Officer details the start of his workday on the day Kirk was shot
Bagley says that on the day of the shooting, he got to work around 11 a.m., and his job was to secure an area near a campus building called the Hall of Flags.
Bagley is using aerial drone photos to describe the layout, including whether there is a clear line of sight or view between different places on campus and the courtyard where Charlie Kirk was shot.
Officer describes the university setting where Kirk was shot
Former Utah Valley police officer Chris Bagley is describing the university campus where Charlie Kirk was shot.
He is using a drone image of Utah Valley University taken in December to set the scene, including a parking garage and campus buildings.
But Robinson’s defense team says he hasn’t adequately shown that he took the photo or that it accurately depicts the campus.
State District Judge Tony Graf says Bagley has first-hand knowledge of the area, so he is allowing it to be used as evidence.
Robinson’s parents are sitting in the courtroom gallery
They are a few rows behind Kirk’s parents and his widow, Erika Kirk, who is watching the proceedings with a furrowed brow.
The first witness has been called
Prosecutors have called Spanish Fork Police Officer Chris Bagley to the stand. Bagley was an officer at Utah Valley University when Charlie Kirk was shot there last year.
Donald Trump Jr. is attending the preliminary hearing
Trump Jr. was among the conservative political figures who spoke at Kirk’s memorial service last year.
Robinson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder in Kirk’s assassination. Robinson’s attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence, and the preliminary hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to allow the criminal case to proceed.
As many as 50 exhibits are expected during the hearing
Chief Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander told state District Judge Tony Graf that the exhibits will include several videos of the Sept. 10, 2025, shooting, which occurred as Kirk was addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University.
The videos will be shown on a courtroom monitor that is being set up so that it won’t be captured by the press videographer in the courtroom, Graf said.
Courtroom spectators told to treat the hearing with respect
The judge says people in the courtroom need to show proper decorum during the preliminary hearing.
Spectators aren’t allowed to display pins, clothing, photos or other visible demonstrations of support for anyone involved in the hearing. That includes things like shaking heads, Graf said.
Decorum rules like these are common during court proceedings.
Most witnesses will also be kept out of the hearing until it is time for them to testify, Graf said.
The hearing will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT each day, with two 15-minute breaks and a one-hour lunch break at noon. It is expected to last a week.
Preliminary hearing begins for man accused of killing Charlie Kirk
State District Judge Tony Graf is going over his rules for the hearing, including some limitations on the use of technology such as cellphones and laptops.
Graf says the court has the duty to protect and uphold the rights of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing the Turning Point USA founder, and those of Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
Kirk’s widow arrives at the courthouse
Erika Kirk has arrived at the Utah courthouse for the preliminary hearing of the man accused of killing her husband, Charlie Kirk.
Three men escorted her into the building several minutes before the hearing was expected to begin.
Charlie Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, arrived separately.
Court hearing in Kirk’s death draws the curious, heavy security
Armed officers with binoculars are on the roof of the courthouse where Tyler Robinson faces a key hearing in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.
More officers are on the ground outside the courthouse. A drone was also flying overhead. Robinson’s defense team arrived at Utah County court with a dolly to move boxes of documents.
The focus of the hearing is whether there’s enough evidence to send Robinson to trial and whether the death penalty will be an option if there’s a conviction.
Shelly Juber, who lives nearby in Orem, got one of the 14 courtroom seats set aside for the public.
“I’m a trial watcher, true-crime enthusiast. … My grandson’s girlfriend was there the day it happened,” she said, referring to Utah Valley University.
A former Utah judge says prosecutors will likely clear the legal bar to pursue a murder case
For Tyler Robinson to be found guilty at trial, prosecutors will have to prove without any reasonable doubt that he killed Kirk. But the criteria for this week’s preliminary hearing are less strict.
Mark Kouris, who was a prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City, says there’s a low threshold for prosecutors to show the case against Robinson should proceed to trial.
“Effectively, it’s 51% — there’s a 51% chance they did it,” Kouris, now an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, said in an interview. “This standard is extremely low, and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing.”
Kirk’s family says his death ‘irrevocably impacted our lives’
Charlie Kirk’s family thanked supporters for their kindness and prayers ahead of Monday’s preliminary hearing.
“Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death,” Erika Kirk, his widow, said in a statement posted on X, “and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children.”
She added that the public outpouring “has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.”
The statement was posted on behalf of Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn, his widow and his sister Mary.
“Out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be commenting further at this time,” the brief statement said.
Kirk’s widow has said she forgives the man accused of killing him
Erika Kirk forgave defendant Tyler Robinson during her husband’s memorial service in September.
“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she said as she struggled to hold back tears.
“I forgive him because it was what Christ did. It is what Charlie would do,” she added.
Her declaration was an outlier among prominent conservatives, including President Donald Trump, who said in September on Fox News that he hopes Robinson gets the death penalty.
Erika Kirk took the helm of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth movement that her husband co-founded, shortly after her husband’s death.
She is expected in court throughout the week with her husband’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk.
Robinson’s attorneys tried to block the death penalty
State District Judge Tony Graf said recently that prosecutors violated his restrictions on talking outside the courtroom when Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard told a media outlet his office had ample evidence to convict Tyler Robinson of killing Charlie Kirk.
Robinson’s lawyers argued the comments were intended to influence potential jurors. As a punishment, they wanted the judge to block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.
But Graf said that was too severe, and that Ballard’s comments weren’t malicious.
The judge said any potential bias issues could be addressed by expanding the jury pool or more closely questioning potential jurors when the case goes to trial.
Will Robinson face the death penalty?
Starting with today’s hearing, the focus of the case shifts to whether there is enough evidence for a trial and whether the death penalty is warranted, said Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor and former federal judge.
Cassell said evidence made public to date in court filings suggests prosecutors have “an overwhelming case.”
“This seems like the proverbial slam dunk at this stage of the case, where the only issue is whether there is a sound basis for moving forward with a trial on the merits,” he said.
A death sentence is an option in Utah only when a crime has aggravating circumstances. Prosecutors will argue in Robinson’s case that Kirk’s shooting endangered others in attendance.
What information is publicly known about the case?
Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle used to kill Kirk, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle.
Robinson’s parents had confronted him after authorities released a surveillance photo of the suspect and details about the rifle, authorities have said. His parents convinced him to meet with a family friend, a retired sheriff’s deputy who reportedly helped arrange for Robinson to turn himself in.
Prosecutors have said Robinson left a note for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” They also said he wrote to his roommate in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Defense attorneys unsuccessfully sought to block prosecutors from using recorded statements from Robinson’s roommate during the hearing. The defense wanted the roommate to testify in person so Robinson could exercise his right to challenge the credibility of witnesses against him. Graf said the time for challenging witnesses would come later.
What to expect during today’s hearing
The proceeding will resemble a mini-trial, with prosecutors planning to offer DNA evidence linking Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, testimony from investigators, autopsy findings, witness statements and video of Kirk’s killing. They are not required to present all their evidence and can use secondhand information or hearsay.
After the hearing concludes, state District Judge Tony Graf must determine if the case should proceed.
Prosecutors need only demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk. The standard is lower than for a trial, where prosecutors have to prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Prosecutors will lay out their case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk’s widow and parents are expected this week in a Utah court where prosecutors seeking the death penalty will argue that the man charged with killing the conservative activist should stand trial for murder.
The five-day preliminary hearing that starts today will be the first time members of Kirk’s family are in the Utah courtroom with defendant Tyler Robinson. The hearing will be livestreamed.
Robinson turned himself in after the shooting. Prosecutors allege that he also sent a text message confession to his partner and left a note saying he had an opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices, “and I’m going to take it.”
He has not entered a plea in the case, however.
Robinson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk, who was addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University. His attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence.
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