The weeklong preliminary hearing ahead of Tyler Robinson’s trial for his alleged killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk offered key insights into how the forthcoming trial will likely unfold, as new evidence presented undermined conspiracy theories around Kirk’s 2025 assassination.
Beginning Monday and concluding Friday, Utah prosecutors and lawyers for Robinson presented arguments and evidence to Judge Tony Graf about whether there is probable cause to continue to a trial on murder charges. While Graf will not make a decision until September, the five days of hearings offered key insights about the case prosecutors have built.
1. Conspiracy theories hobbled by prosecution’s evidence
Although state and federal law enforcement officials have been steadfast in their assertion that Robinson killed Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, online conspiracy theories have claimed that other people, including Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, were behind the conservative activist’s death. With the mountain of new evidence presented by the prosecution during this week’s hearings, those theories have effectively crumbled.
One of the conspiracy theories that was hardest hit by evidence shown at the preliminary hearing was the claim, made most notably by podcaster Candace Owens, that Robinson was not even on UVU’s campus on the day Kirk was shot. Throughout the hearings, the prosecution presented surveillance camera videos from the university’s campus appearing to show Robinson making his way to the building where prosecutors say he shot a rifle and killed Kirk. The videos verify that Robinson was on the UVU campus, prosecutors allege.
While prosecutors must only demonstrate at the preliminary hearing that there is probable cause, rather than the “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that will be required in the trial for conviction, to show Robinson killed Kirk, prosecutors have said they are confident they have enough evidence to prove Robinson’s connection to the crimes up to both standards.
2. Lance Twiggs a key part of prosecution connecting Robinson to Kirk’s killing
The most significant revelations of the hearings came on Thursday, when the prosecution presented video testimony of Lance Twiggs, Robinson’s former roommate and lover. Twiggs’s taped testimony was redacted to avoid broadcasting alleged confessions by Robinson and possibly tainting the prospective jury pool, but the details broadcast in the courtroom still connected Robinson to Kirk’s killing.
In the video testimony recorded in April, Twiggs said Robinson was walking around and seemed to be keeping himself busy after Kirk’s death last fall. Twiggs also said Robinson told him he planned to talk to his parents or turn himself in to the police.
“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before, and he said it was,” Twiggs said. “He started crying a little bit, and he said he wishes he hadn’t done it, and then kept going around and just doing stuff. I think to keep himself busy or distracted or something.”
Another key part of the argument came from text messages between Twiggs and Robinson, which were presented in court. In one of the exchanges, Twiggs asked Robinson, “You werent the one who [did] it right????,” to which Robinson responded, “I am, I’m sorry.” Twiggs asked how long Robinson had been planning the alleged shooting, and Robinson responded, “A bit over a week.”
Robinson also said in a text to Twiggs that he did it because he had “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” In another text, Robinson instructed Twiggs to delete the text exchange, and while Twiggs responded “alright” to Robinson, he did not delete the exchange.
3. Robinson’s lawyers offer preview of trial defense
One of the biggest mysteries going into the preliminary hearing was how Robinson’s lawyers would attempt to undermine the exhibits offered by the prosecution. The five days of hearing showed some of the arguments the defense will likely use to cast doubt on key pieces of evidence used by the prosecution, including DNA samples from items recovered near the crime scene.
During the second day of the hearing, the defense spent much of the day questioning the accuracy of DNA and its ability to link suspects to crime weapons. The defense also attempted to undermine the prosecution’s attempts to tie Robinson to the ballistics used in the killing of Kirk. Robinson’s lawyers pointed to the inconclusive results of a ballistics test trying to tie Robinson to the suspected murder weapon and the bullet fragment used to kill Kirk. The result of the test, which caused controversy in earlier hearings, did not say one way or the other if the rifle and the bullets matched.
The Kirk family said in a statement upon the conclusion of Friday’s hearing that it marked “an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Charlie.”
“Our family is grateful for the prayers, support, and kindness that has been extended to us, especially through these unimaginably painful and emotionally demanding proceedings,” the family’s statement said.
“As difficult as these last few days have been, it brings our family comfort to know that the world has witnessed the overwhelming evidence of what occurred to Charlie that day,” the statement reads. “Nothing will ever undo the loss of our beloved Charlie. As this case moves into its next phase, we pray that truth will continue to be heard through a process that is fair, transparent, and grounded in the facts.”
DAMNING TYLER ROBINSON LETTER ACCIDENTALLY FLASHED DURING CHARLIE KIRK MURDER HEARING
During the expected trial, Robinson will face multiple charges for his alleged assassination of Kirk on the UVU campus in September 2025. The maximum punishment for the charges against Robinson includes the death penalty, which prosecutors have said they intend to pursue. Robinson’s lawyers attempted to get the possibility of the death penalty off the table during a hearing last month, but Graf denied the motion.
Robinson’s trial is expected to be one of the most closely watched criminal cases of the year, after the public killing of Kirk sent shock waves through politics last year. Authorities say Robinson claimed Kirk spread “too much hate,” and that his family said Robinson espoused increasingly left-wing views, including on transgender ideology, in recent years.