PROVO, Utah — Tyler Robinson, 23, is due in court Monday for a week-long preliminary hearing to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to move the case in the fatal shooting of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk toward trial, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors charged Robinson by information, meaning they must establish probable cause at a public preliminary hearing and allow defense attorneys to cross-examine witnesses, prosecutors said. The hearing carries a lower burden of proof than a trial; prosecutors must show probable cause but do not have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors said Kirk, 31, a father of two, was speaking at a TPUSA event at Utah Valley University when a sniper’s bullet struck his neck and killed him. Kirk’s widow and parents are expected to attend the hearing, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege investigators found Robinson’s DNA on the trigger of the suspected murder weapon, his grandfather’s Mauser rifle, on a towel wrapped around it and on three of the four bullets recovered, and on a screwdriver found near the suspected rooftop sniper perch. They also expect to present digital evidence, including alleged confessions sent by text message and on the Discord communications app. Police recovered the rifle in a patch of woods near the UVU campus, which prosecutors say was along the suspect’s escape route.
Prosecutors and law enforcement sources said Robinson is alleged to have sent messages about retrieving the rifle to his lover, Lance Twiggs, and to have written a handwritten note confessing to Twiggs. Twiggs is cooperating with investigators and has not been charged, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said ATF testing did not conclusively match the bullet that killed Kirk to the Mauser but found it was a consistent caliber and recovered a spent casing that did match. Robinson faces charges including aggravated murder, witness tampering, committing a violent offense in the presence of a child, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors allege he targeted Kirk because of his political views and tried to conceal the rifle and clothing used in the shooting; they said the aggravated murder charge carries a possible death penalty. Robinson has not entered a plea and will not be required to do so unless prosecutors prevail at the preliminary hearing.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
