The 23-year-old suspect charged with the murder of Charlie Kirk last year is to stand trial, a judge has ruled, where he could face the death penalty if he is convicted.
Tyler Robinson pleaded not guilty to all counts, including aggravated murder, after Utah District Judge Tony Graf ruled in favour of prosecutors, who said they had “a mountain of evidence” that the defendant fatally shot Kirk as he spoke to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University last September.
Lawyers for Robinson, who turned himself in a day after the shooting, sought to prevent the case from going to trial or to have the death penalty removed as a possible sentence, arguing that prosecutors failed to show Kirk’s shooting placed others around him at risk of death. That’s an aggravating factor under state law that makes Robinson eligible to face the death penalty.
Kirk’s family called the ruling “an important step in our family’s pursuit of justice.”
“Every step in this process carries the weight of all that Charlie’s murder has taken from his family, especially his children who will grow up without their father,” they said in a statement.
Prosecutors said Robinson shot Kirk from a rooftop more than 400 feet (122 metres) away, knowing he could have missed and killed others at the open-air event.
“Tyler James Robinson shot and killed Charlie Kirk because he disagreed with him, and he did it by firing a high-powered rifle into a crowd of over 3,000 people, which created a great risk of death that anyone would know about,” said Ryan McBride, a prosecutor with the Utah County Attorney’s Office.
Graf had the option to proceed to trial on a lesser charge of murder, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison. He said his decision to approve the aggravated murder charge was based on the positions of several people in and around a tent where Kirk was speaking, among other factors.
Tuesday’s hearing in state court came after prosecutors in July spent five days presenting evidence, including DNA and a handwritten note they allege Robinson left for his romantic partner that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.”
Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, entered the heavily secured courthouse arm in arm before the hearing in Provo. His widow, Erika Kirk, was seated beside them.
A few dozen local members of Charlie Kirk’s organisation, Turning Point USA, assembled outside the courthouse Tuesday evening to watch the family leave and express support.
Staci Visser, an attorney for Robinson, argued that prosecutors were trying to “shoehorn” the case into Utah’s aggravated murder statute.
Kirk was seated on a stage in an elevated position, not immediately near anyone else, when he was shot once in the neck, she said.
Robinson also faces potential sentencing enhancements if prosecutors can show he targeted Kirk for his political beliefs.
Before his death, Kirk and Turning Point USA galvanised the conservative youth vote to help President Donald Trump win a second term.
Prosecutors argued that a bullet found in the rifle, engraved with “Hey Facist! CATCH!”, shows that Kirk was targeted for how the defendant perceived his politics. They have also alleged Robinson wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Defence attorneys argued that prosecutors do not have strong enough evidence to prove a political motivation.
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