Tyler Robinson preliminary hearing scheduled to start on Monday

Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing for allegedly killing Charlie Kirk begins Monday.
• Robinson faces 10 charges including aggravated murder; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
• Defense challenges media access and hearsay evidence; court limits electronic devices.

PROVO — Nearly 10 months after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on the campus of Utah Valley University, a preliminary hearing for the alleged gunman, Tyler Robinson, is scheduled to begin Monday.

Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow, and Kirk's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, are expected to attend the week-long hearing, marking the first time they have been in the courtroom for any of Robinson's legal proceedings.

Robinson faces 10 charges in 4th District Court, the most serious being aggravated murder, a capital offense. The Utah County Attorney's Office says it will seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted on that charge.

In addition to aggravated murder, Robinson, 23, is charged with discharge of a firearm causing injury, a first-degree felony; two counts of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; two counts of witness tampering, a third-degree felony; and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child, a class A misdemeanor.

During a preliminary hearing, a judge will decide if there is sufficient probable cause to go to trial on the charges levied against a defendant. The bar prosecutors must meet to show probable cause, however, is very low at a preliminary hearing. A judge will not determine guilt or innocence during a preliminary hearing.

Cameras in the Courtroom

Robinson's defense team has made several unsuccessful attempts to have cameras and microphones kept out of the courtroom during the hearing. His attorneys contend that because of the widespread attention Robinson's case has received, his right to a fair trial will be jeopardized if electronic media is allowed. Robinson further argues that evidence submitted during the preliminary hearing may later not be allowed at trial but may prejudice a future jury pool.

Fourth District Judge Tony Graf, however, stated in his latest ruling that the court has already "taken remedial measures to reduce the risk of a 'reality TV show' or 'carnival atmosphere' in the courtroom by enacting a strong decorum order and regulating the seating of observers and placement of video cameras in the courtroom."

Seating in the courtroom for the preliminary hearing will be very limited. Pool photographers will be allowed to livestream and take pictures of the proceedings from the back of the courtroom. But with the exception of attorneys, Graf has banned all portable electronic devices from the courtroom — and the entire courthouse — for the week, including laptops, phones and even Apple Watches.

Attorneys for the media made a last-minute filing over the holiday weekend to try to get that order amended.

"Preventing the public from receiving news reports on the preliminary hearing as it unfolds will not safeguard the accuracy, reliability, or integrity of the reporting or proceedings any more than barring the public from viewing the livestream of the proceedings would. Few people are likely to view the entire livestream of the preliminary hearing, much less a single day of it," the media argued in its appeal.

In an amended motion, the media argues that "unlike the general public, professional journalists require laptops and smartphones to take notes, compose stories, and 'send updates on the proceedings in real time.'" But Graf also denied the amended motion, stating that "the court finds that permitting data-capable portable electronic devices for in-court real-time transmission during the July 2026 preliminary hearing might compromise the integrity of the proceedings."

Hearsay and Lance Twiggs

In addition to cameras in the courtroom, Robinson's defense team is concerned about Graf allowing hearsay evidence during the preliminary hearing.

Hearsay evidence is any statement that a person, such as a police officer, collects from another person — such as a witness or another officer — and presents that statement at the hearing.

Over the weekend, Robinson filed a "standing objection" to the state's preliminary hearing exhibits, including photographs and video recordings, the Utah State Medical Examiner's autopsy report without the testimony of the medical examiner, and testimony from police officers who are expected to talk about statements they received from other officers who will not be in the courtroom.

"The failure to produce witnesses with personal knowledge of the content of the exhibit, including how the exhibit was created, prevents this court from assessing the reliability of the evidence, and violates each of the state and federal constitutional rights referred to above in this capital proceeding," Robinson's objection states.

The defense also strongly objects to the video-recorded testimony of Robinson's former roommate at the time Kirk was killed, Lance Twiggs, being presented as evidence during the preliminary hearing. Graf denied a request by Robinson for the court to order Twiggs — whom the defense calls a "material witness," to attend the hearing in person. Defense attorneys argue that by being unable to cross-examine Twiggs, or any other witness providing hearsay evidence, the court will be unable to asses the reliability of that evidence.

But Graf has also noted that much of the evidence Robinson's defense team wants kept out of the public eye during the preliminary hearing is already public.

Robinson's charging documents outline some of the messages Robinson allegedly exchanged with his Twiggs, whom investigators say was also his boyfriend, and parents prior to being taken into custody. Search warrant affidavits unsealed in April give additional details of a letter Robinson left for Twiggs, whom he referred to as "Luna."

"Luna, if you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry. I left the house this morning on a mission, and sent an auto text. I am likely dead or facing a lengthy prison sentence. I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it," the letter states, according to one warrant.

The text messages and Discord chats that Robinson had with friends in which one person exclaimed, "Tyler killed Charlie!!!!," the warrant states, are also expected to be introduced as evidence in addition to the video interview with Twiggs.

In addition, it is anticipated that the state will submit videos of Kirk being shot as evidence. At Robinson's last in-person hearing, Graf granted a request by prosecutors that, before sensitive evidence, such as the videos, is introduced, the judge take a short break to allow Kirk's family to leave the courtroom and then re-enter after the videos or other sensitive evidence is shown.

Robinson says during this week's hearing he intends to "state his additional objections and the bases for them as to the entirety and/or portions of each exhibit, at the time that the state proffers each specific exhibit, during the course of the preliminary hearing."

The Utah County Attorney's Office is expected to call six law-enforcement witnesses and present about 40 exhibits during the hearing. Robinson says he plans to call three out-of-state forensic witnesses to the stand.

Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

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The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

Related topics

Charlie Kirk killingPolice & CourtsUtahUtah County

Pat Reavy

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.