Image source, APThe family of Charlie Kirk and his widow Erika have come face-to-face in court for the first time with the US conservative activist’s alleged killer.
Prosecutors in Utah laid out their evidence for the murder case against Tyler Robinson, 23, on Monday. The hearing, which is set to continue all week, is set to determine whether Robinson will stand trial.
Kirk, a key ally of US President Donald Trump and founder of youth organisation Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on 10 September 2025 as he spoke on the campus of Utah Valley University, kicking off an intense manhunt.
Robinson was arrested days later on a slew of charges, including murder. He has not entered a plea.
Prosecutors in the case are seeking the death penalty.
During their first appearance in court since the case began, Kirk’s family were joined by the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
Image source, ReutersThe family of Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, released a statement to local media in advance of Monday’s proceedings, which are scheduled to last through Friday.
“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,” said the statement from Erika Kirk, Kirk’s parents Robert and Kathryn, and his sister Mary. They thanked people for the outpouring of prayers and kindness since Kirk’s death.
“Out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be commenting further at this time. We ask for continued privacy as we navigate this process and immense grief.”
Image source, ReutersNew footage, evidence and witness testimony was presented during the hearing, including surveillance footage that law enforcement said showed Robinson on the Utah school’s campus four times the day of the shooting – including hours after Kirk’s death.
The preliminary hearing acts as a way for a judge to decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to present their case before a jury at trial.
Both prosecutors and Robinson’s defence team questioned witnesses who took the stand throughout the hours-long hearing. It offered a peek at what Robinson’s defence could entail as it’s remained a mystery due to his lack of a plea to the charges.
His lawyers reportedly questioned footage presented, how Robinson was identified as a suspect and security at the school.
In previous hearings, his lawyers have sought to exclude various evidence and asked Judge Tony Graf to take the death penalty off the table.
Robinson, wearing a light-coloured suit, sat between his lawyers at the defence table.
Image source, Rick Egan/Pool via Reuters/File PhotoKirk was addressing a crowd from under a tent on 10 September as part of his American Comeback tour of college campuses, during which he invited attendees to debate him.
A shot rang out as he was speaking about gun violence; Kirk slumped over to the side.
Chris Bagley, one of four law enforcement witnesses expected to take the stand during the week-long hearing, had been stationed on a building above and realised from the noise that it had come from a rifle, not a handgun.
In court on Monday, he described a chaotic scene of people shouting and running and told the court that he was informed by law enforcement that a shooter had been taken into custody.
But he said he discovered suspicious evidence leading him to believe it might not be the right suspect.
Bagley said he found a screwdriver and an impression in gravel on a roof indicative of a sniper and then viewed security footage showing an individual dropping down and escaping from the area.
He described a telling impression the suspect had left behind.
“I could see the disturbance of gravel; to me, it looks like a sniper pad, a person that has been laying in a prone position, and you’ve got markings of elbows, knees and feet – where somebody was in the line of sight of where Charlie’s tent was.”
Robinson’s defence lawyer Kathryn Nestor voiced several objections throughout the testimony, asking him about staffing, planning and surveillance on the day of Kirk’s event.
Another witness, David Hull, told the court he’d been working as an agent with Utah’s State Bureau of Investigation at the time of Kirk’s shooting. He testified that he reviewed surveillance video from the day of the shooting and saw Robinson “on campus… approximately four times throughout the day”.
Hull testified that Robinson appeared at the school twice before the attack, then again at the time of the shooting – then returned that evening, hours after Kirk’s death.
Prosecutors also played home surveillance footage from a neighbourhood near campus which they say shows Robinson parking his gray Dodge, then returning later and driving away.
The hearing is set to continue all week and will examine evidence and witnesses in the case to determine whether prosecutors have enough to present it before a jury at trial.
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