Charlie Kirk murder hearing begins against Tyler Robinson

In a Provo, Utah courtroom Monday, state prosecutors launched the evidentiary phase of a preliminary hearing intended to persuade a judge that Tyler James Robinson should stand trial for the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Among the charges Robinson faces, according to ABC News, are aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, witness tampering on two counts, and committing a violent offense in front of a child; death is a potential punishment prosecutors say they will pursue. The hearing, expected to span five days, is before District Judge Tony Graf, who must decide at its conclusion whether the evidence clears the bar for a trial.

For Erika Kirk — the widow — and Kirk's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, Monday's proceeding marked their first time sharing a courtroom with Robinson. Also in attendance, according to CNN, was Donald Trump Jr. — a close friend of Kirk's — who sat in the gallery alongside his wife, Bettina Trump. When testimony turned to the moment of the shooting, the Kirk family stepped out of the courtroom.

Officer Christopher Bagley, a former senior officer at Utah Valley University and the hearing's first witness, told the court he heard a gunshot ring out at 12:23 p.m. while Kirk was onstage at the campus event. On the roof of the Losee Center, Bagley said he discovered a screwdriver and indentations in the gravel that suggested a person had been positioned there in a prone, sniper-style stance, according to CNN.

According to The Associated Press, the state contends Robinson used a Mauser Model 98 .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle, positioned on the Losee Center rooftop approximately 200 feet from Kirk's location. Forensic testing returned DNA results consistent with Robinson's profile on the weapon's trigger, a fired cartridge casing, and additional items found at the scene.

Handwritten and left where his roommate — also his romantic partner — would find it, Robinson's alleged pre-shooting note declared: "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it." Later messages to the same person, prosecutors say, offered a rationale: Robinson wrote that he "had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated."

No plea has been entered by Robinson. Defense attorneys, according to CNN, have argued that extensive pretrial coverage threatens their client's right to a fair trial, and on Monday they challenged the admissibility of multiple prosecution exhibits.

Murder case against Charlie Kirk's accused killer moves to preliminary hearing

A five-day probable cause hearing began Monday in Provo; Tyler Robinson, 23, could face execution if the case advances to trial

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