1st day of weeklong hearing begins in Charlie Kirk killing, with widow Erika Kirk in attendance

For the first time, widow Erika Kirk and the 23-year-old Utah man charged with shooting and killing her husband sat in the same courtroom Monday. 

Wearing black and listening intently, Kirk dabbed her eyes with a tissue at the start of a weeklong hearing in Provo, nearly 10 months after conservative political activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem. She has succeeded him as CEO of the organization he led, Turning Point USA. 

Tyler Robinson, who faces the potential of a death sentence if he’s convicted of aggravated murder, sat expressionless in a gray suit. Prosecutors on Monday began laying their foundation for why he should stand trial, parsing evidence in painstaking detail and questioning two law enforcement officers about early steps in the investigation. 

Their objective at this early stage in the case is not to prove Robinson is guilty, but rather to show there’s probable cause — a reasonable basis — to believe he carried out the crimes. A judge is set to decide whether they’ve met that threshold after the weeklong hearing concludes. That finding would send the case to a full trial.

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Kirk was a close ally of President Donald Trump, whose son, Donald Trump Jr., was also in attendance on Monday. 

During the hearing, Utah County prosecutors moved to have the judge consider photographs of the university campus and the rooftop from where investigators allege Robinson fired a rifle, along with videos of the shooting and a medical examiner’s report classifying Charlie Kirk’s manner of death as homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck. 

News cameras can stay, but judge sets other limits in Charlie Kirk murder case

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester raised objections continuously, at times saying that making the videos and images public could create bias in potential jurors for a later trial.

Citing concern for Kirk’s family, both sides agreed to show video of the shooting to the judge and attorneys on monitors at their desks, allowing members of the news media and the public to hear just the audio that included a loud crack.  

Robinson, of St. George, quietly conferred with his defense attorneys and jotted down notes with a red pen throughout the hearing. He has not yet entered pleas to a charge of aggravated murder, among other counts including witness tampering and obstruction of justice.  

Charlie Kirk’s parents and Erika Kirk sat together in the courtroom gallery, leaving the room before testimony about the shooting and while the videos were played. 

Erika Kirk said during her husband’s memorial service last year that she forgives Robinson, although he has yet to be convicted by a court.

 Before the hearing, she asked for privacy in a prepared, joint statement with Charlie Kirk’s parents and sister. 

“Charlie was a beloved husband, son, brother, friend, and father. 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,” the statement said. 

The statement continued: “We remain deeply grateful for the support, prayers, and kindness we have received. This outpouring has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.”

Prosecutors called a former Utah Valley University officer and an agent with Utah’s State Bureau of Investigation to detail early steps as they worked to solve the case. 

Over objections from Robinson’s defense team, agent David Hull, the lead investigator on the case, gestured toward Robinson to identify him as the suspect in his investigation. 

Charlie Kirk, a founder of the student organization Turning Point USA, was shot and killed just minutes into a speaking event before a crowd of roughly 3,000 at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10. 

Investigators said a 33-hour manhunt was brought to an end when Robinson turned himself in. 

The hearing is the most significant yet in one of Utah’s highest-profile court cases in recent memory. Questions of how much access the public and media should have to proceedings in the case has been a focal point.  

The judge allowed news photographers to take pictures and livestream video from the preliminary hearing in Provo’s 4th District Court. But he also took the unusual step of restricting other journalists and members of the public from bringing laptops or phones into the courtroom. 

Kirk’s assasination was part of a spike in political violence that included the 2024 attempt on President Donald Trump’s life and the Minnesota shootings that killed a former state lawmaker and her husband and wounded another politician and his wife. Other attacks followed, including the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington D.C. in April, where authorities said a gunman targeted the president. 

In announcing his office filed charges against Robinson, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray described Kirk’s death as “an American tragedy” and said he’d pursue the death penalty for Robinson if a jury first convicts him of aggravated murder. 

Robinson also faces two counts of obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies, two counts of tampering with a witness, third-degree felonies; and violence in the presence of a child, a misdemeanor. 

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