Tyler Robinson pleads not guilty in Charlie Kirk killing as Utah judge allows capital murder case to proceed

By Jim Urquhart and Andrew Hay

PROVO, Utah, Sept. 1 (Reuters) - Tyler Robinson pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a capital murder charge in the September 2025 shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, after a Utah judge ruled the case could move forward with the death penalty still possible.

The hearing in Provo, not far from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem where Kirk was killed, marked the most significant step in the case since the shooting on Sept. 10, 2025. Utah District Court Judge Tony Graf ruled there was sufficient evidence to try Robinson, 23, on an aggravated murder count that carries a potential death sentence under Utah law. Robinson faces six additional charges and pleaded not guilty to every count.

Prosecutors described the evidence as “overwhelming” and said Robinson fired the single round that killed Kirk, 31, as the conservative activist stood near his security detail during one of the campus debates that helped propel him to national prominence. Defense lawyers argued the killing did not meet the legal standard for capital punishment. The question now goes to a jury.

Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn, and his wife, Erika, were in the courtroom. Erika has since taken leadership of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization her husband co-founded. “Today’s decision, which comes nearly a year since Charlie was taken from us, marks an important step in our family’s pursuit of justice for him,” the Kirk family said in a statement after the hearing.

Judge Graf set an Oct. 23 hearing to schedule a trial date.

Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA, was credited with energizing young voters behind Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign. His killing, captured on cellphone video that spread widely online, was among a series of attacks on U.S. political figures in recent years and has fueled debate over political violence in a deeply polarized country.

Utah County prosecutor Ryan McBride showed the court video images of what he said was Robinson taking up a sniper position on a rooftop before the shooting. McBride said the four rounds in Robinson’s rifle showed the shooter was prepared to fire again if the first shot missed, and that Kirk’s security detail was just feet away. He also displayed images he said showed the former electrical apprentice had created a “great risk of death” to others.

“He lay down in a prone position, and he would have seen this mass of people, of 3,000-plus people there for the event, took aim, put his crosshairs on Charlie Kirk and fired,” McBride told the court.

Defense says Kirk only victim

Defense lawyer Staci Visser said the shooting endangered no one other than Kirk and did not warrant capital punishment. “There is one act. There is one shot. There is one bullet. There is one victim,” Visser told the court.

McBride said Robinson was in a relationship with Lance Twiggs and targeted Kirk because of his political positions against gay marriage and transgender rights. He cited a text message in which Robinson allegedly told Twiggs he shot Kirk because “some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Defense attorney Richard Novak responded that Kirk had spoken “hatefully” about people who did not identify with traditional gender identities and those who are not heterosexual. Novak said it was unclear what Robinson meant by “hate,” and that the text did not mean Robinson opposed Kirk’s political views.

Seth Zuckerman, a former New York City prosecutor who now works as a criminal defense attorney, said the case is more likely to go to trial than end in a plea deal. “Prosecutors may not be willing to take the death penalty off the table, and that would probably require a trial,” Zuckerman said. He added that Robinson’s defense lawyers will likely try to persuade a jury that the murder did not warrant a death sentence.

(Reporting by Jim Urquhart in Provo, Utah, and Andrew Hay in New Mexico; additional reporting by Matt McKnight in Seattle; editing by Donna Bryson, Edmund Klamann and Christian Schmollinger)