The man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk is fighting to take the death penalty off the table.
His lawyers are making a narrow legal argument to do it.
And Utah prosecutors just filed a 19-page response that lays out exactly why that argument falls apart.
What the Defense Is Trying to Pull Off
Tyler Robinson, 23, stands accused of crawling to a sniper’s perch on the Losee Building rooftop at Utah Valley University, firing a high-powered rifle that struck Charlie Kirk in the neck, and killing him in front of thousands of people gathered for a Turning Point USA event on September 10, 2025.
Kirk was 31 years old. He was the founder of Turning Point USA and had just launched his “American Comeback Tour” when the shot rang out.
Robinson’s defense team — attorneys Kathy Nester, Michael Burt, Richard Novak, and Staci Visser — filed a 41-page brief asking Judge Tony Graf to throw out the sole aggravating factor that currently makes Robinson eligible for the death penalty. Under Utah law, aggravated murder requires at least one statutory aggravating factor. In Robinson’s case, prosecutors alleged he “knowingly created a great risk of death” to people other than Kirk — a crowd of thousands standing nearby.
The defense says that standard wasn’t met. Their argument is that the bullet traveled above the crowd and Robinson only “hit the intended target,” meaning no one else was ever truly in danger. Strip that aggravating factor, the lawyers say, and the death penalty disappears with it.
“The facts and the law require this Court to strike the sole aggravating factor,” the defense wrote in its brief.
It’s a legally narrow play, and prosecutors aren’t buying a word of it.
Prosecutors Fire Back — and Don’t Pull Punches
The state’s 19-page filing hits Robinson’s legal team on multiple fronts simultaneously.
First, prosecutors pointed out something that the defense didn’t bother disputing: Robinson himself doesn’t challenge the basic facts of what happened. As prosecutors wrote in the filing, “Defendant does not challenge the substance of the evidence demonstrating that he was the person who crawled to the sniper’s perch on the Losee Building rooftop, fired the fatal shot that killed Mr. Charlie Kirk, hid the rifle in a wooded area, got rid of some of the clothing he was wearing, and told his roommate to delete their texts about the shooting.”
That’s a remarkable concession sitting at the center of this case. The fight isn’t about whether Robinson did it. It’s about whether the way he allegedly did it qualifies him for capital punishment.
On the zone-of-danger question, prosecutors pushed back directly on the defense’s claim that the bullet flew harmlessly over the crowd. People standing near Kirk, they argued, were still within the “zone of danger” created when Robinson allegedly fired the rifle toward a crowd of thousands. “The evidence here easily establishes at least probable cause” that Robinson knowingly created a great risk of death to others, prosecutors wrote, adding that the evidence is “more than sufficient to support a finding beyond a reasonable doubt.”
And then prosecutors went after the legal research itself.
The filing accuses Robinson’s attorneys of relying on case law that was later rejected by the Utah Supreme Court — and never telling the judge about it. “This blatant omission violates counsel’s duty of candor to the court,” prosecutors wrote.
That’s not a minor procedural complaint. Attorneys are obligated to alert courts to controlling legal authority even when it cuts against their client. Prosecutors are essentially accusing the defense team of hiding unfavorable law from the judge overseeing this case.
More Than Just the Aggravating Factor
The 19-page filing doesn’t stop at the death-penalty question.
It also defends the witness-tampering charge tied to Robinson’s roommate and a separate allegation that Robinson committed a violent offense in the presence of a child — another potential penalty enhancement attached to the aggravated murder count.
The defense had argued that because Robinson allegedly ran across the roof, dropped to his stomach, and fired within about a minute, he couldn’t have had time to observe whether children were in the crowd below. Prosecutors turned that argument around: the speed and chaos of the alleged shooting, they said, only made it more likely Robinson could have missed his intended target entirely and struck someone else.
The witness-tampering charge stems from Robinson allegedly instructing his roommate to delete their text exchange about the shooting. That roommate didn’t delete the messages. Those texts became central evidence in the case — including Robinson’s alleged statement about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Investigators also found a cartridge engraved with the words “Hey fascist, catch,” which prosecutors cite as evidence Kirk was targeted specifically because of his political expression.
But the defense has argued a text message alone isn’t strong enough to definitively prove a political motive behind the shooting.
Robinson has not entered a plea in the case.
What Happens Next
Judge Tony Graf is expected to hear final arguments from both sides at a September 1 hearing and then decide whether prosecutors have established probable cause to send the case to trial.
If Graf agrees with the state, Robinson will be arraigned and the case moves toward what could be one of the most closely watched murder trials Utah has seen in years. If Graf sides with the defense on the aggravating factor, the death penalty comes off the table — though Robinson would still face the underlying murder charge and the other counts.
Kirk’s family has pushed for the case to move forward without further delay. His widow, Erika Kirk, previously filed for a speedy trial, with her attorney arguing there had already been undue delay in the proceedings.
The killing sent shockwaves through the country. Kirk was shot in the neck while addressing a crowd at Utah Valley University, the first stop of his national “American Comeback Tour.” He was a close ally of President Donald Trump and had spent years building Turning Point USA into one of the most influential conservative youth organizations in the country.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced shortly after Robinson’s arrest that his office would seek the death penalty. “The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy,” Gray said. “Charlie Kirk was murdered while engaging in one of our most sacred and cherished American rights.”
Gray added: “I’m filing notice of intent to seek the death penalty.”
Robinson was taken into custody after showing up with his parents at his hometown sheriff’s office in southwestern Utah — more than a three-hour drive from the campus where the shooting occurred.
DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the suspected murder weapon, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges, and a towel used to wrap the rifle, according to prosecutors. The weapon was recovered in a wooded area near campus.
The defense has a long road ahead. Prosecutors aren’t just defending the death-penalty eligibility — they’re making the case that the evidence Robinson himself doesn’t dispute is more than enough to send this to trial on every count.
And the September 1 hearing will determine whether this case takes its next major step toward a verdict that Kirk’s family, and much of the country, has been waiting nearly a year to see.
Sources: Fox News, LiveNOW from FOX, KSL.com, Courthouse News Service, Deseret News