By Emily Lindsey
Correspondent
Tyler Robinson, the man accused of murdering right wing activist Charlie Kirk, pleaded not guilty to all seven charges against him at a probable cause hearing in Provo, Utah on Sept. 1.
The judge decided that Robinson’s case will go to trial on Oct. 23 and that he may receive the death penalty if he is convicted in accordance with Utah law, according to Utah News Dispatch.
Nearly one year after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, 2025 at Utah Valley University, this case still garners widespread attention in global news.
According to NPR, many people travelled a great distance to bear witness to the hearing, including one of Kirk’s former cameramen and members of the UVU chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization that Kirk co-founded.
In order for the hearing to go to trial, Utah county’s prosecution team, including attorney Ryan McBride, had to establish that Robinson was a legitimate suspect. Part of the evidence McBride presented to the judge were images of the assailant, whom he claimed was Robinson, taking up a sniper position on top of a building and delivering the fatal shot to Kirk.
After hearing the rest of the prosecution’s argument, Utah County Judge Tony Graf, determined that “this evidence is sufficient at this stage to support a reasonable belief the defendant is the individual who shot and killed Charlie Kirk.”
However, the hearing did not end there. To incur the possibility of capital punishment, the prosecution had to elevate Robinson’s primary charge from murder to aggravated murder by proving that he “created a ‘great risk of death’ to others” beyond just Kirk, according to Reuters.
According to the Associated Press, the defense fought hard against this elevation. One of Robinson’s defense attorneys, Staci Visser, said, “There is one shot. There is one bullet. There is one victim.” She pointed out that Kirk’s position on a platform isolated him from the crowd and even his own security details as he spoke.
Reuters reported that “she [Visser] said the assailant simply shot Kirk then ran away, without reloading the weapon or threatening anyone else.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution built a staunch argument for the opposing stance. NBC quoted McBride stating, “You can’t shoot a rifle into a crowd of 3,000 people without knowing that you create a great risk of death to all those around your target.”
According to The Associated Press, prosecution attorney Chad Grununder also “noted that the alleged murder weapon - a bolt-action rifle - was loaded with additional rounds that had not been fired.” The prosecution asserted that the assailant was prepared to use these bullets on the day of the shooting.
Ultimately, the judge ruled that “the state met its burden at this preliminary stage.” If Robinson is convicted of the elevated charge of aggravated murder at his trial on Oct. 23, he will face the death penalty.
Another point of contention in this hearing was the possibility of labelling Kirk’s shooting as a politically motivated crime. According to Reuters, “Kirk was credited with energizing young voters behind President Donald Trump's 2024 reelection campaign” through his Turning Point USA organization.
The prosecution presented the court with the evidence of several of the bullets loaded into the alleged murder weapon that carried seemingly political messages, such as “Hey Fascist! CATCH!”
Reuters also cited messages entered into evidence by the prosecution from Robinson to his partner Lance Twiggs, reading, “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” The defense contended that this evidence was insufficient.
According to NBC, defense attorney Richard Novak justified this stance in court by pointing out that “we have no testimony that Mr. Robinson had ever spoken about Charlie Kirk, that he’d ever heard anything he’d said, that he’d ever discussed anything.”
Additionally, the defense argued that the wording of the online messages were far too vague, and that the prosecution had no evidence as to what the ‘hate’was that Robinson mentioned as reported by The Associated Press.
With the heightened punishment for Robinson’s conviction, his trial in October is even more anticipated than before. Robinson’s prosecution team has not yet offered an alternative theory or suspect for Kirk’s murder, which could be the deciding factor of Robinson’s fate.
