Lawyers for man charged with killing Charlie Kirk question reliability
of evidence
[July 10, 2026]
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and MATTHEW BROWN
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative
activist Charlie Kirk plan to call a final witness on Friday as they try
to raise doubts about the prosecution's case before it can go to trial.
A Utah judge is deciding whether prosecutors have enough evidence to put
Tyler Robinson on trial on a charge of aggravated murder. Kirk, 31, was
killed as he spoke to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University on
Sept. 10.
One of Robinson's attorneys, Michael Burt, tried to inject uncertainty
into the case Thursday by challenging the reliability of ballistics
tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body. Authorities
sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the
results were inconclusive.
“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha
Karner with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.
Burt earlier in the week questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that
investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science
behind DNA testing is sound.
Robinson has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the
fatal shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited
with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024
election.
The defense said it would call a final witness to testify Friday, the
final day of the weeklong preliminary hearing.
However, a decision from state District Judge Tony Graf won’t come until
after Sept. 1, when he scheduled oral arguments in the matter.
Prosecutors on Thursday aired portions of a recorded interview with
Robinson's roommate, Lance Twiggs.
The day after Kirk was shot in the neck, Robinson allegedly told Twiggs
“he wishes he hadn’t done it,” a recording played in court revealed.
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Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie
Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District
Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser
Heaps, Pool)
Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself
in — Robinson posted “it was me at UVU yesterday,” in a chat room on
the Discord social media platform, according to investigators and
messages shown by prosecutors.
Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the
statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued
prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession,
undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus
event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime
punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible
sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he
targeted Kirk because of his political views.
Twiggs said in the April interview with prosecutors and
investigators that Robinson sometimes talked about politics,
including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about
Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about
gender issues or LGBTQ rights, Twiggs said.
___
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
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