Inside the preliminary hearing for Charlie Kirk’s accused killer
The preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused of shooting Charlie Kirk last year, is underway in Provo, UT. Prosecutor Claudia Cowan details surveillance footage placing Robinson at the crime scene and DNA evidence linking him and his roommate, Lance Twiggs, to the alleged murder weapon. Criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter discusses the strategy to counter the significant evidence.
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Charlie Kirk’s widow and parents say they were prevented from viewing evidence during the accused assassin’s preliminary hearing, arguing in a new court filing that victims have a legal right not only to attend criminal proceedings but to meaningfully observe the evidence presented in open court.
Tyler Robinson, 23, is accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk outside a “Prove Me Wrong” event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10, 2025. A preliminary hearing is underway to determine whether the case will move forward to trial.
In a supplemental notice filed Wednesday, Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, asked a Utah judge to require that all evidence admitted during the remainder of Robinson’s preliminary hearing be displayed in real time for everyone lawfully present in the courtroom. The filing also asks the court to republish exhibits admitted during the first three days of the hearing that were not shown publicly.
CHARLIE KIRK’S PARENTS, WIDOW TO ATTEND TYLER ROBINSON’S PRELIMINARY HEARING NEXT WEEK
Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, is pictured alongside Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf, who is presiding over the preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Kirk outside a “Prove Me Wrong” event in Orem, Utah. (Fox News ; Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via Pool)
“The Victim’s Family’s position is simple. At a minimum, every exhibit entered into evidence during the preliminary hearing must be visible to every person lawfully present in the courtroom,” the court filing read. “To receive evidence in a manner shielded from those seated in the courtroom – as happened today – is not transparency. And in the absence of transparency, speculation and conspiracy theories related to the tragic assassination of Mr. Kirk will continue to proliferate in the public domain, breeding doubt and distrust in the judicial system. This is not what anyone should want.”
The filing says the Kirk family waited 10 months for the preliminary hearing and traveled to the courthouse to witness the proceedings, only to find themselves unable to view certain evidence admitted during testimony.
Attorneys wrote the family was “present in body” but denied the ability to “meaningfully observe the preliminary hearing.”
TYLER ROBINSON PRELIMINARY HEARING: JUDGE ORDERS REDACTIONS TO EX-LOVER’S VIDEO TESTIMONY
Booking photos for Tyler Robinson, 22, the suspected in the Utah assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. (Utah Gov. Spencer Cox)
The filing also contends that Utah law guarantees crime victims and their representatives the right to be informed of, present at and heard during important criminal justice proceedings, and argues those protections are meaningless if victims cannot see the evidence being presented to the court.
“The right ‘to be present’ is hollow if the victim or his representative is physically in the room but is prevented from seeing the evidence the Court is receiving,” the document reads. “A right to attend that does not include the ability to perceive what is happening is not meaningful presence at all.”
Charlie Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
The filing asks the court to display all previously admitted exhibits that were not shown publicly during proceedings scheduled for July 9 and to require that all future evidence admitted during the preliminary hearing be displayed openly and in real time for everyone lawfully present in the courtroom.
It also asks the judge to prohibit evidence from being received in a manner that conceals it from courtroom observers.
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Robinson’s preliminary hearing began Monday and is expected to continue through the week. Prosecutors must establish probable cause for the case to proceed to trial on multiple charges, including aggravated murder, which carries the potential death penalty.