Charlie Kirk was gunned down in front of thousands of people at Utah Valley University in September 2025, and the man accused of pulling the trigger has spent the months since trying to keep the public from watching what comes next.
The legal maneuvering has been relentless. And now it just ran into a wall.
And now the trial judge’s bombshell new ruling just changed everything.
What the Court Said
In a brief order, the Utah Supreme Court declined to hear accused assassin Tyler Robinson’s appeal of Fourth District Judge Tony Graf Jr.’s decision allowing cameras inside the courtroom.
The justices also deemed Robinson’s request to delay the proceedings moot, clearing the way for the preliminary hearing to move forward as scheduled.
“The petition for permission to appeal from an interlocutory order is denied. The motion to stay is deemed moot,” the order states.
The ruling marks another setback for Robinson’s defense team, which has aggressively challenged several of Graf’s pretrial rulings in the months leading up to the hearing.
The Case Against Robinson
Robinson, 23, is accused of firing a single round from a rooftop, striking Kirk as he debated with students at Utah Valley University in Orem.
After a 30-plus-hour manhunt, Robinson turned himself in to authorities, accompanied by his father and a family friend.
He was charged with felony aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of felony obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
Kirk was credited with mobilizing young voters who helped President Donald Trump win the 2024 election. He was 31 years old.
The alleged evidence against Robinson is damning, at least as prosecutors have described it. The state says in charging documents that Robinson left a note and exchanged text messages with his roommate Lance Twiggs, whom he referred to as “Luna,” following Kirk’s assassination. “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 a search warrant affidavit.
Prosecutors have said since the beginning that Robinson allegedly admitted to killing Charlie Kirk in conversations with multiple people, including his parents and his lover.
A Defense Strategy Built on Delay
Robinson’s legal team has thrown everything at the wall. Motions to ban cameras. Requests to delay. Appeals to the state’s high court. Attempts to get prosecutors sanctioned. And now, with the preliminary hearing days away, essentially all of it has failed.
Former assistant U.S. attorney and criminal defense attorney Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital the motions could be part of a broader effort to preserve issues for appeal. “The defense is probably thinking that if they raise these motions, whether it’s to exclude cameras in the courtroom or to disqualify the Utah County Attorney’s Office, they’re creating potential issues on appeal, even if Judge Graf denies those motions,” Rahmani said. “So if Tyler Robinson is sentenced to death, he may have more arguments that both state and federal appellate judges will be looking at if he is on death row.”
That’s a sobering read on what’s actually happening here. The defense isn’t necessarily expecting to win these pretrial skirmishes. They may be building a paper trail for a death penalty appeal that could take years to play out.
The defense’s attempt to delay Robinson’s July preliminary hearing was denied. They also sought to have the potential death penalty taken off the table, claiming that was the only remedy left after prosecutors spoke about the case outside of the courtroom.
District Court Judge Tony Graf ordered measures to prevent comments by Utah County prosecutor Christopher Ballard from tainting potential jurors should the case go to trial. But Graf rejected a request by defense lawyers that he penalize the prosecution for Ballard’s comments by blocking them from seeking the death penalty for Robinson.
So the death penalty stays on the table. The cameras stay in the courtroom. And the preliminary hearing goes forward.
What Happens at the Preliminary Hearing
At a preliminary hearing, a judge decides if there is enough probable cause for a defendant to proceed to trial on the charges levied against that person.
The Utah County Attorney’s Office is expected to call six law-enforcement witnesses and present about 40 exhibits during the preliminary hearing, including the Twiggs video. Robinson says he has three out-of-state forensic witnesses he plans to call to the witness stand.
Part of the defense’s argument in a 51-page filing is that Utah law allows hearsay to be introduced by investigators on the witness stand at the preliminary hearing, denying the defense the chance to cross-examine the actual witnesses.
Prosecutors aren’t buying it. “Utah has allowed prosecutors to introduce reliable hearsay at preliminary hearings for more than 30 years. Federal prosecutors have introduced hearsay at preliminary hearings for over 50 years, and at grand jury proceedings since our nation’s founding. Forty-four other states allow hearsay at preliminary hearings and grand jury proceedings. These well-established procedures are not unconstitutional,” prosecutors said in their motion opposing Robinson’s effort to preclude hearsay evidence.
The Utah Supreme Court has not yet ruled on two additional defense petitions challenging Graf’s pretrial orders. One seeks to block prosecutors from relying on certain hearsay evidence during the preliminary hearing, while the other challenges Graf’s decision not to require key witness Lance Twiggs to testify in person. Those appeals remain pending.
Twiggs was given limited immunity for his statements after the suspect allegedly confessed to shooting Kirk in conversations and messages.
Kirk’s Family Will Be Watching
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents are expected to attend. Since his death, his wife has taken over the organization.
Erika Kirk has been vocal about wanting the proceedings open to the public. She has pushed for the case to be open to the public, in part to cut down on what she has called conspiracy theories about his death. “We deserve to have cameras in there,” she told Fox News last month. “Why not be transparent?”
The hearing may include graphic images and video of Kirk’s death, which circulated widely online following the shooting. Lawyers on both sides have reportedly agreed to notify family members of sensitive evidence and allow them to leave the courtroom before it is presented.
And the public will be able to see all of it. The defense lost that fight too.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander urged public proceedings in the July hearing, saying the public deserves transparency in a high-profile case that has prompted conspiracy theories online. “The state has tried to make it abundantly clear, throughout this process, that we favor open hearings, so that the public can trust what happens in this courtroom,” he said.
That’s a reasonable position. Kirk was a public figure whose death played out in front of a crowd. The American people have every right to watch the justice system do its job — or not do it — in plain view.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled to run July 6 through July 10. Whether it stays on track may depend on what the Utah Supreme Court does with the two remaining defense petitions still pending before it. But as of now, after loss after loss in the weeks leading up to this moment, Tyler Robinson’s defense team heads into that hearing with the cameras rolling and the death penalty fully intact.
The Utah County Attorney’s Office has said that giving the public a chance to see inside the courtroom could help to settle conspiracy theories and misinformation circulating about the case.
Charlie Kirk spent his career making the case for transparency, for open debate, for showing up and arguing in public. His widow is asking for the same thing now. It’s hard to argue with that.
Sources: Fox News Digital, KSL.com, NBC News, CNN, Utah News Dispatch, East Idaho News, The Hill