Utah County prosecutors finished their arguments in a key preliminary hearing on Tuesday by asserting that video and DNA evidence prove Tyler Robinson killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as a judge weighs whether there is probable cause to put Robinson on trial for murder charges.
Judge Tony Graf oversaw the final day of a preliminary hearing, which was largely held over a five-day span in July before breaking for nearly two months ahead of closing arguments, which involved Graf hearing the final pleas from state prosecutors and Robinson’s lawyers as he determines whether the prosecution has shown it has enough evidence to proceed to a trial. The prosecution echoed arguments made during July’s hearing and in the brief it filed last month to Graf, alleging that Robinson targeted Kirk for his political views and that Robinson was indeed the gunman who assassinated the conservative activist.
“The evidence is overwhelming. Any one of these four categories I’ve talked about is adequate, certainly for probable cause, and likely for proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Ryan McBride said, referring to the video, DNA, and circumstantial evidence, along with Robinson’s alleged admissions of guilt. “There can be no doubt that the defendant is the man who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, and the evidence clearly surpasses the hurdle of probable cause at this stage of the proceeding.”
Prosecutors also discussed factors that should elevate the charges and put Robinson on a path toward the death penalty — mainly that he jeopardized the safety of the people assembled at the event on Utah Valley University’s campus, where Kirk was fatally shot.
“He did it by firing a high-powered rifle into a group of thousands who surrounded Charlie Kirk literally on all sides,” McBride said, asking Graf to allow Robinson to stand trial on all charges. “And he, like any rational person, knew that that would create a great risk of death to all those around Charlie Kirk in the event of any one of a number of likely possibilities.”
Robinson’s lawyers took aim at the claims that DNA evidence proved Robinson was the gunman who killed Kirk. Michael Burt, a lawyer for Robinson, argued that the prosecution was “overreading” the DNA evidence, questioning the accuracy of the evidence and pointing 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 earlier this year, did not say one way or the other if the rifle and the bullets matched.
“It’s a simple, common-sense proposition,” Burt said. “Mr. McBride urged you to apply common sense, and here’s a good common sense proposition: the fact that something is possible does not make it probable. The standard is probable cause, not possible cause, and the DNA evidence in this case goes to the issue of possibilities, not probabilities.”
Graf is expected to decide if the case can proceed to trial at the conclusion of the Tuesday hearing.
THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM TYLER ROBINSON’S PRELIMINARY HEARING IN CHARLIE KIRK MURDER TRIAL
If Graf allows the case to proceed to trial, Robinson will face multiple charges for his alleged assassination of Kirk that come with the maximum punishment of the death penalty, something prosecutors have said they intend to pursue. Robinson’s lawyers have continuously attempted to get the possibility of the death penalty off the table, including via a motion Graf denied earlier this year.
Robinson’s expected trial is slated to be one of the most closely watched criminal proceedings in recent years, after the public killing of the Turning Point USA founder sent shock waves through politics last year.