{"id":3273,"date":"2026-07-06T19:35:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T19:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273"},"modified":"2026-07-06T19:35:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T19:35:29","slug":"prosecutors-push-for-a-trial-for-the-man-accused-of-killing-charlie-kirk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>PROVO, Utah<\/strong> |  Utah prosecutors were in court Monday seeking to convince a state judge they have enough evidence to bring the defendant in Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination to trial and seek the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p>Kirk\u2019s parents and widow, Erika Kirk, were in the courtroom for the first time since the case began, along with Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump\u2019s son. But Kirk\u2019s family walked out of the courtroom after the prosecution\u2019s first witness \u2014 a police officer \u2014 started testifying about Kirk\u2019s arrival on campus the day he was shot. They later returned.<\/p>\n<p>The five-day preliminary hearing marks the most significant presentation of evidence to date in the case against defendant Tyler Robinson.<\/p>\n<p>Robinson\u2019s parents also were present, sitting a few rows behind the Kirks as the hearing began. The 23-year-old defendant is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk, a conservative activist and ally of President Donald Trump, at Utah Valley University. Robinson turned himself in the day after the shooting.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Robinson sat quietly between his attorneys on Monday, looking at the prosecution\u2019s exhibits on a monitor and occasionally taking notes. He wore a gray suit, and his wrists were shackled to a chain around his waist.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors allege he confessed in a note left for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that read: \u201cI had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I\u2019m going to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robinson has not yet entered a plea, and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A low threshold for prosecutors<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The proceeding resembles a mini-trial, but prosecutors need only demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk. The standard is lower than for a trial, where prosecutors must prove guilt \u201cbeyond a reasonable doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors as a result should have little trouble advancing their case, said Mark Kouris, a former prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEffectively it\u2019s 51% \u2014 there\u2019s a 51% chance they did it,\u201d said Kouris, now an adjunct professor at the University of Utah\u2019s S.J. Quinney College of Law. \u201cThis standard is extremely low and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The prosecution\u2019s first witness, former Utah Valley University police officer Chris Bagley, said he could see the right side of Charlie Kirk\u2019s body as Kirk spoke on campus. Kirk was answering a question when Bagley heard a gunshot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI saw him go to the left \u2026 I could no longer see the right side of his body,\u201d Bagley said. \u201cThen everybody started getting up and started to run, more of a chaos situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the shooting, Bagley went to the top of a nearby building where he saw a disturbance in the gravel that looked like a \u201csniper pad\u201d, where someone might have been laying in a position that would allow them to shoot a weapon.<\/p>\n<p>Defense attorney Kathryn Nester asked Bagley about finding an empty pistol holster on the ground after the crowd fled. Bagley acknowledged he never took custody of the holster and didn\u2019t know if it was fingerprinted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roomate\u2019s recorded testimony could be focal point<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors can use secondhand information, or hearsay, to help present their case. They expect to present between 40 and 50 exhibits during this week\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander told state District Judge Tony Graf that the exhibits will include several videos of the Sept. 10 shooting, which occurred as Kirk was addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University. The videos will be shown on a courtroom monitor that is being set up so that it won\u2019t be captured by the press videographer in the courtroom, said Graf.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors have said they plan to present DNA evidence linking Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, autopsy findings, witness statements and video of Kirk\u2019s killing. They are also expected to argue the shooting endangered others at Kirk\u2019s campus event \u2014 an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law.<\/p>\n<p>Once the hearing is finished, Graf must determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.<\/p>\n<p>Robinson\u2019s roommate is not expected to testify in person during the hearing. Still, the roommate\u2019s recorded testimony could be a focal point for prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the alleged confession note, Robinson reportedly texted his roommate that he targeted Kirk because he \u201chad enough of his hatred,\u201d prosecutors have said.<\/p>\n<p>Erika Kirk says court proceedings are a \u2018painful reminder\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, galvanized the conservative youth vote to help Trump win a second term.<\/p>\n<p>The Republican president has said he hopes Robinson receives the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p>Erika Kirk said during his memorial service that she forgives Robinson.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of Monday\u2019s hearing, she thanked supporters in a statement posted to X for their kindness and prayers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death,\u201d she wrote, \u201cand the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added that the public outpouring \u201chas sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown reported from Billings, Montana.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3268\">Arapahoe County Fair 2026: Dates, Tickets, and What to Expect<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3269\">Aurora man dies Monday after collision with car while driving minibike last week<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3271\">New Colorado law requires training and permit to buy semiautomatic firearms<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PROVO, Utah | Utah prosecutors were in court Monday seeking to convince a state judge they have enough evidence to bring the defendant in Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination to trial and seek the death penalty. Kirk\u2019s parents and widow, Erika Kirk, were in the courtroom for the first time since the case began, along with Donald [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[313,5265,5266,5267,5268,5269,1663],"class_list":["post-3273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nation","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-chris-bagley","tag-donald-trump-jr-2","tag-erika-kirk","tag-kathryn-nester","tag-robert-kirk","tag-tyler-robinson"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk - Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PROVO, Utah | Utah prosecutors were in court Monday seeking to convince a state judge they have enough evidence to bring the defendant in Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination to trial and seek the death penalty. Kirk\u2019s parents and widow, Erika Kirk, were in the courtroom for the first time since the case began, along with Donald [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-06T19:35:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b\"},\"headline\":\"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-06T19:35:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273\"},\"wordCount\":945,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0d9ab183c97f324916db545557c1f47e.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Charlie Kirk\",\"Chris Bagley\",\"Donald Trump Jr.\",\"Erika Kirk\",\"Kathryn Nester\",\"Robert Kirk\",\"Tyler Robinson\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Nation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273\",\"name\":\"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk - Denver Moving Chronicle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0d9ab183c97f324916db545557c1f47e.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-06T19:35:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0d9ab183c97f324916db545557c1f47e.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0d9ab183c97f324916db545557c1f47e.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682,\"caption\":\"FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, on Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan\\\/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3273#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Denver Moving Chronicle\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk - Denver Moving Chronicle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk - Denver Moving Chronicle","og_description":"PROVO, Utah | Utah prosecutors were in court Monday seeking to convince a state judge they have enough evidence to bring the defendant in Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination to trial and seek the death penalty. Kirk\u2019s parents and widow, Erika Kirk, were in the courtroom for the first time since the case began, along with Donald [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273","og_site_name":"Denver Moving Chronicle","article_published_time":"2026-07-06T19:35:29+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b"},"headline":"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk","datePublished":"2026-07-06T19:35:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273"},"wordCount":945,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0d9ab183c97f324916db545557c1f47e.jpg","keywords":["Charlie Kirk","Chris Bagley","Donald Trump Jr.","Erika Kirk","Kathryn Nester","Robert Kirk","Tyler Robinson"],"articleSection":["Nation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273","url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273","name":"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk - Denver Moving Chronicle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0d9ab183c97f324916db545557c1f47e.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-06T19:35:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0d9ab183c97f324916db545557c1f47e.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0d9ab183c97f324916db545557c1f47e.jpg","width":1024,"height":682,"caption":"FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, on Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan\/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3273#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/","name":"Denver Moving Chronicle","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com"],"url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}