Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson appeared in court on Monday but hid his face during the hearing.
Robinson, 22, and his newly appointed legal counsel asked to have his waiver hearing postponed and did not enter a plea.
In Utah, the court system allows individuals accused of crimes to bypass their legal right to a preliminary hearing, providing them the alternative to schedule an arraignment where they can officially enter a plea.
The defendant, accused of murder, was absent from the courtroom while his lawyer, the well-regarded Utah defense attorney Kathryn Nester, engaged in discussions with state prosecutors regarding the case.
Officials said earlier that Robinson would appear via video but he was not seen on Monday.
During the proceedings, attorney Nester informed Judge Tony Graf of the Utah Fourth District Court in Provo that she would not opt to forgo the preliminary hearing. This hearing requires prosecutors to present sufficient evidence to a judge to uphold the charges.
Nester noted that the defense team requires ample time to review the extensive evidence, which prosecutors have described as ‘voluminous,’ and indicated that the hearing might not occur for several months.
Prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty.
Tyler Robinson, 24, appeared in court on Monday but was not seen. He is pictured during his first court appearance earlier this month
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot dead at Utah Valley University on September 10
The alleged assassin was not present in court as his lawyers and state prosecutors discussed the case
The session in Provo was accessible to the public and was situated just a few miles from Utah Valley University in Orem. The university community is still coming to terms with the trauma from the September 10 shooting and the subsequent one-and-a-half-day search for the suspect.
Robinson’s next hearing is on October 30 and he is expected to appear in person.
The authorities apprehended Robinson after he arrived, accompanied by his parents, at the sheriff’s office in his hometown in southwest Utah—over three hours away from the shooting scene—intending to surrender himself.
Prosecutors have since revealed incriminating text messages and DNA evidence that they say connect Robinson to the killing.
A note that Robinson had left for his romantic partner before the shooting said he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices, ‘and I’m going to take it,’ Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told reporters before the first hearing. Gray also said that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: ‘I had enough of his hatred.’
Robinson has been jailed at the Utah County jail in Spanish Fork since his arrest.
The assassination of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism, has galvanized Republicans who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of moving American politics further right.
Trump has declared Kirk a ‘martyr’ for freedom and threatened to crack down on what he called the ‘radical left.’
Prominent Utah defense attorney Kathryn Nester will represent Robinson
Prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty
Kirk, who was 31 when he was killed, is survived by his wife Erika, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months, seen here
Kirk’s political organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, brought young, evangelical Christians into politics through his podcast, social media and campus events.
Many prominent Republicans are filling in at the upcoming campus events Kirk planned to attend, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Sen. Mike Lee at Utah State University on Tuesday.
