On Monday, the preliminary hearing began for Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, during an event on the Utah Valley University campus. The purpose of this five-day hearing is straightforward: prosecutors must convince Judge Thomas Low that they have enough evidence to proceed to a full trial. They are seeking the death penalty for Robinson, who faces ten charges, including aggravated murder.
For the first time since the shooting, Kirk’s family, including his widow Erika, sat in the same room as the suspect. Donald Trump Jr. was also in attendance, sitting with Erika in a show of support.
The morning session was clinical but brutal. Prosecutors called Officer Chris Bagley to the stand. He was one of the first responders on the scene. Bagley described the immediate aftermath of the shooting, recounting how he heard a rifle shot and watched Kirk collapse.
As Bagley detailed the injury and the chaos that followed, Erika Kirk quietly left the courtroom, unable to listen to the graphic description of her husband’s final moments.
Investigator Sean Hansen also testified, and prosecutors began deploying video evidence from the event. The plan for the rest of the week is to lay out the forensic and digital trail that investigators say links Robinson to the assassination.
Robinson’s defense team will have their turn to cross-examine witnesses, but the bar for a preliminary hearing is low. Prosecutors do not have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt yet. They only need to establish probable cause. Given the high-profile nature of the victim and the evidence gathered since last autumn, it is highly likely this case will be bound over for trial by the end of the week.
The political shockwaves of Kirk’s death are still rippling through the conservative movement, but inside the Provo courthouse, the focus has narrowed to the raw reality of a murder. Over the next few days, we will see exactly how strong of a hand the state has.
