PROVO, Utah – Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University last year, is due in court Monday for a week-long preliminary hearing that will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to move the case toward trial.While in many cases, prosecutors secure a grand jury indictment behind closed doors and without giving defense lawyers a chance to challenge the evidence, Robinson was charged by information, meaning prosecutors must establish probable cause at a public preliminary hearing before the case can move to trial.Defense attorneys will be able to cross-examine witnesses.But unlike an actual trial, there is a lower burden of proof.
Prosecutors need to show probable cause for the charges against Robinson.They do not have to prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
That comes at trial, in front of a jury.CHARLIE KIRK'S PARENTS, WIDOW TO ATTEND TYLER ROBINSON'S PRELIMINARY HEARING NEXT WEEKTyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Thursday, Dec.11, 2025.
(Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via Pool)Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, was speaking at a TPUSA event in front of thousands of young people when a sniper's bullet fatally struck him in the neck.His widow and parents are expected to attend the hearing.Prosecutors have alleged that investigators found Robinson's DNA on the trigger of the suspected murder weapon, his grandfather's Mauser rifle; a towel they found wrapped around it; three of the four bullets inside — and a screwdriver recovered near the suspected rooftop sniper's perch.Digital evidence against Robinson is expected to include alleged confessions over text messages and the Discord communications app.ALLEGED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN TYLER ROBINSON'S ROOMMATE AND LOVER RECEIVED LIMITED IMMUNITY: PROSECUTORSCharlie Kirk was assassinated Sept.
10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley Uni...