Defense attorneys seek to block trial in Charlie Kirk assassination case
Retired NYPD inspector Paul Mauro analyzes defense motions to block a trial for suspect Tyler Robinson in the Charlie Kirk murder case in Utah. Prosecutors presented surveillance footage, ballistics a Dremel tool, DNA evidence linking Robinson to the rifle and testimony from roommate Lance Twiggs.
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Utah prosecutors are urging a judge to send Tyler Robinson to trial on every charge in the killing of Charlie Kirk, arguing that the evidence against him is overwhelming and pushing back against the defense’s effort to take the potential death penalty off the table.
In a 19-page filing Tuesday, prosecutors responded to a defense brief asking Judge Tony Graf to throw out the sole aggravating factor that could expose Robinson to the death penalty.
The defense has argued prosecutors failed to show that the shooting created a great risk of death to anyone other than Kirk.
ACCUSED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN TYLER ROBINSON ASKS JUDGE TO TAKE POTENTIAL DEATH PENALTY OFF TABLE
Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is seen in court in his first in-person court appearance on Dec. 11, 2025. (Pool/KSL-TV)
Prosecutors said the evidence shows otherwise, arguing Robinson allegedly fired his grandfather’s high-powered rifle toward a crowd of thousands, with several people in the line of fire or close to Kirk.
They rejected the defense’s argument that the bullet traveled above the crowd, saying people near Kirk were still within the “zone of danger” created when Robinson allegedly fired the rifle.
“The evidence here easily establishes at least probable cause” that Robinson knowingly created a great risk of death to others, prosecutors wrote. They said the evidence is “more than sufficient to support a finding beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The state also took aim at the defense’s broader challenge to the evidence presented during Robinson’s preliminary hearing.
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Court on July 8, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (Tess Crowley – Pool/Getty Images)
“Defendant does not challenge the substance of the evidence demonstrating that he was the person who crawled to the sniper’s perch on the Losee Building rooftop, fired the fatal shot that killed Mr. Charlie Kirk, hid the rifle in a wooded area, got rid of some of the clothing he was wearing, and told his roommate to delete their texts about the shooting,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors also accused Robinson’s attorneys of relying on case law that was later rejected by the Utah Supreme Court while failing to alert the judge to those later decisions.
“This blatant omission violates counsel’s duty of candor to the court,” prosecutors wrote.
The filing also defends a witness-tampering charge involving Robinson’s roommate and an allegation that Robinson committed a violent offense in the presence of a child.
Charlie Kirk throws hats to the crowd after arriving at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Prosecutors also argue there is evidence Kirk was targeted because of his political expression, pointing in part to a cartridge engraved with the words “Hey fascist, catch.”
Robinson, 23, is accused of fatally shooting Kirk, 31, as he spoke at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Robinson has not entered a plea.
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Graf is expected to decide at a Sept. 1 hearing whether prosecutors have shown enough probable cause to send the case to trial.
Fox News’ Lee Ross contributed to this report.
