By Darlene McCormick Sanchez
& Janice Hisle
Contributing Writers
The man accused of assassinating conservative commentator Charlie Kirk with a bullet to the neck will stand trial for aggravated murder, a Utah judge ruled on Tuesday, almost a year after the fatal shooting rocked the nation.
Defendant Tyler James Robinson, 23, potentially faces the death penalty if convicted.
Judge Tony Graf Jr. of Provo’s 4th District Court bound Robinson over to trial, noting the probable cause standard had been met by the state on all seven counts.
Robinson pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The attorney for the Kirk family requested that the judge set a trial date at the next court appearance scheduled for Oct. 23.
Robinson faces six other charges alongside aggravated murder: two counts of obstructing justice, two counts of witness tampering, along with causing serious bodily harm by discharging a firearm and committing violence in the presence of a child.
The judge explained that a probable cause hearing allows the admission of reliable hearsay in Utah, without violations to due process as argued by the defense.
Robinson had the “motive, means and opportunity” to kill Kirk, the prosecution argued during the Tuesday preliminary hearing.
DNA evidence, eyewitness testimony and surveillance videos all link Robinson to the shooting scene, they said.
“There is a mountain of evidence here. The evidence is overwhelming,” Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride said. “We know what Charlie Kirk stood for, and those ideas were repugnant to the defendant who was in a homosexual relationship with a man who is considering transitioning genders.”
Kirk’s alleged shooter imperiled other lives, prosecutors said. They argued this met the “aggravating” circumstance requirement for their pursuing a death-penalty-level charge against the defendant.
The circumstances included the presence of bystanders and children near Kirk as he was shot, the prosecution argued at the preliminary hearing.
The judge had noted before making his ruling that a man within two steps was able to render assistance to Kirk after he was shot and that at least two children were in the crowd.
Defense lawyers argued that the law requires proof beyond a mere “possibility” that someone else could have been killed.
There was only one shot, one bullet, and one victim, according to the defense, as they urged the judge to reject the prosecution’s aggravating factor argument.
“There were no actual threats by the assailant to the third party,” defense attorney Staci Visser said. “There was no evidence that would suggest that anyone else was threatened.”
Before the hearing, Graf denied the defense motions, in part, to prohibit broadcasting and photography. Graf allowed one television station to broadcast the proceedings, one still photographer, subject to restrictions, and denied a request for a second still photographer.
The judge also allowed oral arguments and filings surrounding the Tuesday hearing to be publicly accessible.
Notably, he denied media access to the Discord chat involving conversations between Robinson and gamers surrounding the shooting, along with graphic video and photos of Kirk’s death.
Before the hearing, lawyers representing Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, had urged Graf to rule by Tuesday, arguing against any “undue delay” while preserving Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
By law, the judge’s sole task is to decide whether there is probable cause — a required step before the case can head to trial, prosecutors noted.
That legal standard “requires ‘evidence sufficient to support a reasonable belief that an offense has been committed and that the defendant committed it,’” prosecutors explained in a statement to the press, citing state law.
On Sept. 10, 2025 — almost a year ago — Kirk was fatally shot as he debated and answered questions from an audience of about 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Kirk, a 31-year-old Christian father of two, was best known as a conservative speaker who, at 19, founded the political movement Turning Point USA for young voters. Prosecutors say evidence points to Robinson targeting Kirk over his “political expression.”
