Man Accused in Charlie Kirk Killing Makes First Court Appearance in Person

Tyler Robinson faces murder charges in Utah in the Sept. 10 assassination of Mr. Kirk, the political activist and ally of President Trump.

Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing the conservative political activist Charlie Kirk at a college campus in September, appeared in a Utah court on Thursday for the first time in person since he was arrested.

Mr. Robinson wore a blue shirt, pastel-colored tie and khaki pants. Cameras in the courtroom showed him speaking and smiling with his lawyers, though the exchanges could not be clearly heard in a livestream of the hearing. His parents and brother were also in attendance.

Mr. Robinson, 22, has been charged with seven state criminal counts, including aggravated murder, an offense that is eligible for the death penalty in Utah. A plea to those charges has not been entered.

The hearing was held in part to determine what could be disclosed to the public about the case. Lawyers introduced themselves, and then the hearing was quickly closed to the public to make those determinations.

Mr. Robinson’s lawyers have asked the court to limit some of the proceedings and records from public view because they said they were concerned about Mr. Robinson’s ability to receive a fair trial.

Mr. Kirk, a close ally of President Trump, was fatally shot in the neck on the campus of Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. One shot had been fired from the roof of a building about 150 yards from Mr. Kirk, who was about 20 minutes into a speaking engagement at the university.

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