The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk pleaded not guilty Tuesday as a Utah judge cleared prosecutors to pursue the death penalty against him.
Tyler Robinson, 23, entered the plea to aggravated murder and six additional charges stemming from Kirk’s fatal shooting at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10, 2025.
Robinson’s attorneys had sought to prevent prosecutors from pursuing capital punishment. The judge rejected that effort, allowing the case to proceed as a potential death penalty trial.
Prosecutors argued that aggravating circumstances justified seeking the death penalty, including their allegation that Robinson fired toward Kirk while the Turning Point USA co-founder was surrounded by a crowd that included children.
Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck while speaking during an outdoor campus event. The conservative activist was a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump and was credited with helping Republicans reach younger voters during the 2024 election.
Robinson appeared in a Provo courtroom Tuesday wearing a gray suit and periodically spoke with his attorneys. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, attended the hearing.
Tuesday’s proceedings followed a five-day preliminary hearing in July in which prosecutors laid out evidence they say establishes probable cause to bring Robinson to trial.
Prosecutors pointed to DNA evidence allegedly connecting Robinson to the rifle believed to have been used in the killing, statements he allegedly made to people close to him and video evidence from the day of the shooting.
“There is a mountain of evidence that proves that he is the shooter,” prosecutor Ryan McBride told the court.
McBride said prosecutors believe four categories of evidence connect Robinson to the killing: video footage, DNA, alleged admissions and circumstantial evidence.
Prosecutors have alleged Robinson opposed Kirk’s conservative political views, particularly his positions on transgender issues. They argued that Robinson considered Kirk’s views “repugnant” and identified that disagreement as a motive for the shooting, per the BBC.
The state also focused heavily Tuesday on the circumstances surrounding the gunshot itself.
Prosecutor Chad Grunander argued that firing toward Kirk while numerous other people were nearby placed additional lives in danger.
“He was playing, in effect, a game of ballistic roulette,” Grunander told the court.
“It’s been 356 days since Tyler Robinson assassinated Charlie Kirk,” Grunander added while urging the judge to send the case to trial. “It’s time for him, the defendant, to be bound over for trial and arraigned. Today.”
Robinson’s defense attorneys challenged the prosecution’s case and attempted to undermine some of the evidence presented during the preliminary proceedings.
The defense also disputed prosecutors’ argument about aggravating circumstances, noting that Kirk was the only person struck by gunfire and that no additional bullets hit members of the crowd.
Robinson’s attorneys have separately objected to cameras livestreaming the closely watched proceedings.
Judge Tony Graf heard additional arguments over courtroom cameras during a sealed hearing Tuesday morning before ruling in favor of continued public access to the proceedings.
Prosecutors have also presented evidence concerning Robinson’s alleged movements around the Utah Valley University campus before Kirk was killed.
During the July hearing, the court heard allegations that Robinson repeatedly scouted the campus on the day of the shooting, interacted with Turning Point USA members and ate at Chick-fil-A before returning in different clothing.
McBride alleged Tuesday that Robinson returned wearing “long pants to obscure the rifle he had concealed down his pants.”
Investigators said Robinson’s DNA was discovered on his grandfather’s rifle, which authorities recovered from a wooded area near the university following the shooting.
Prosecutors also said his DNA was found on a towel wrapped around the weapon and on a screwdriver recovered from the scene.
McBride further told the court that engravings discovered on cartridge casings allegedly corresponded with a Dremel tool recovered from the residence Robinson shared with his roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs.
Twiggs provided a videotaped interview to prosecutors that was played during the July proceedings. According to testimony described in court, Robinson allegedly confessed to the shooting, cried and said he wished he had not carried it out.
Robinson surrendered to authorities the day after Kirk’s killing while accompanied by members of his family and a neighbor.
With his not-guilty plea entered and the death penalty remaining available to prosecutors, the case will now move toward trial.
