When the Utah court paused for its afternoon recess on Thursday, Tyler Robinson’s mother, Amber, stood up looking tearful and exhausted — one of the few moments her composure appeared to crack after hours of testimony in the case against her son, who is accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk.
It was Robinson’s youngest brother, making his first appearance in the courtroom, who stepped in to console her.
He moved beside Amber Robinson, put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She leaned her head against his chest and let out a sharp breath, folding into the embrace as the family endured another emotionally draining day of proceedings.
On the other side of the courtroom, Tyler Robinson appeared far removed from that anguish.
The 23-year-old, wearing a light gray suit with a pale green shirt and dark green tie, looked calm and engaged as he conferred with one of his lawyers, smiling and nodding while talking about relatives who had come to court to support him.
His hands remained folded low in front of him, with the silver links of his handcuffs catching the light.
While his mother appeared overwhelmed, Robinson projected an unusual confidence — head held high, focused on his legal team and careful not to glance toward the jury box, where several journalists sat observing him closely.
As Robinson was escorted from the courtroom at the end of the day, Amber briefly looked in his direction.
Robinson did not look back.
Tyler Robinson’s two younger brothers attended court with his parents, Matt and Amber, for the first time on Thursday
Robinson, 23, (seen in court in December) appeared uncomfortable on Thursday morning during portions of testimony concerning messages he sent
The fraught family tableau came after relatives, reporters and members of the public gathered for the fourth day of a five-day preliminary hearing to determine whether Robinson will go to trial for the September 2025 murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Robinson – who was raised Mormon in a Republican-voting household – is facing aggravated murder and other charges, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Prosecutors have suggested Robinson’s views had shifted sharply from the conservative world in which he was raised in the months before Kirk’s death.
According to charging documents, Amber told investigators he had become more political in the year before Kirk’s killing and more supportive of gay and transgender rights.
He was also in a relationship with his roommate, Lance Twiggs, who identified as transgender and used the name Luna – a relationship that had prompted several family discussions, particularly with Robinson’s father, whose political views were very different from his own.
Those reported tensions made Thursday’s courtroom scene all the more striking.
The accused shooter’s two younger brothers appeared in court for the first time, sitting with their parents as a handful of other extended family members also arrived to support him.
Seated just a few rows behind them were Kirk’s widow, Erika, and his parents, Robert and Kathryn.
Thursday’s hearing centered on bombshell testimony from Lance Twiggs, Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, whose recorded interview with investigators was played in the courtroom, and on text messages between the former couple that were publicly displayed.
Amber and Erika both audibly cried as some of the messages were read out in court.
Robinson, too, seemed uncomfortable, sighing deeply, fidgeting in his seat and appearing to dab sweat from his forehead.
Twiggs – who was granted immunity in exchange for his cooperation – told investigators he saw Robinson the day after Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University and described him as nervous and restless inside the apartment they shared in St. George.
The day before, after Kirk was fatally shot, Twiggs claimed he received a text from Robinson telling him to ‘drop what you’re doing’ and ‘look under your keyboard.’
There, prosecutors allege Robinson had left a note addressed to ‘Luna’ – another name used by Twiggs – that said: ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.’
The note added: ‘Please try and find joy in this life. I love you always, Tyler.’
Amber regularly posted on social media praising her son Tyler for his academic achievements
She cried when images of Robinson’s alleged texts to Twiggs were read out in court
A photograph of the note was later mistakenly broadcast publicly in the courtroom.
Amber Robinson appeared visibly anxious when the letter was displayed, chewing the inside of her cheeks as she stared vacantly ahead.
Twiggs said he pressed Robinson by text, asking about Kirk’s shooting: ‘You weren’t the one who did it, right?’
‘I am,’ Robinson allegedly responded. ‘I’m sorry.’
When Twiggs asked why, Robinson responded that he had ‘had enough’ of Kirk’s ‘hatred’, adding: ‘Some hate can’t be negotiated out.’
Then, when Robinson returned home the following day, Twiggs said he asked whether what he had claimed the night before was true.
Robinson told him it was, according to the interview played in court.
Twiggs said Robinson then began to cry, voiced regret for his actions and said he intended to turn himself in.
The hearing then moved from Robinson’s alleged admissions to the evidence prosecutors say physically tied him to Kirk’s killing.
For the first time, images were shown of the rifle prosecutors say Robinson used to fire a single, fatal shot into Kirk’s neck.
As the image appeared on screen, Amber Robinson’s anxiety seemed to heighten.
She began rolling her lips back and forth and took a long, pained blink as she huddled into the shoulder of her husband, Matt.
Erika Kirk was heard audibly sobbing on Thursday during Twiggs’s recorded testimony
Robinson also appeared uncomfortable. He was later seen smiling while talking to an attorney about his family, but he didn’t turn around to acknowledge them
Robinson, meanwhile, leaned toward the monitor in front of him, appearing to study the weapon closely.
The courtroom was then shown the ammunition that authorities allegedly recovered from the scene, with slogans engraved on the casings.
One engraved casing bore the message: ‘Hey fascist!’
Another read: ‘Catch!’
The moment carried added weight because Twiggs had told investigators Robinson had asked him months before the shooting about a tool to engrave bullets, allegedly claiming it was for an upcoming hunting trip.
After the shooting, Robinson allegedly told Twiggs the messages were ‘mostly a big meme’ and joked that he ‘might have a stroke’ if he saw one of the slogans reported on Fox News.
Robinson’s mouth appeared to twitch as the engraved casings were displayed on the court monitors, as though he were stifling a smirk.
One of the bullets allegedly engraved by Robinson reads: ‘Catch!’
Robinson’s live-in lover Lance Twiggs spoke with prosecutors in April, claiming Robinson confessed to the killing
Behind him, the contrast was stark.
Amber Robinson sat rigidly through the testimony.
Erika Kirk watched sternly from a few rows away, her head resting on a closed fist.
The accused shooter’s family and the victim’s family were separated by only a few rows, but seemed to be absorbing the evidence from opposing sides of the same nightmare.
By Friday, the hearing had entered its final day.
The Robinsons arrived at court on foot from a nearby hotel, Amber wearing a long navy dress and matching heels, Matt in a gray shirt and tie while clutching an energy drink with a gold skull logo emblazoned on the front.
Only one of their sons was present.
Inside the courtroom, prosecutors played enhanced surveillance footage that they say showed Robinson moving across Utah Valley University’s campus in the moments before Kirk was killed.
The footage, shown only to those inside the courtroom, included what prosecutors described as Robinson crawling into a prone position on a rooftop perch before the fatal shot was fired.
Erika watched intently as the figure on the screen ran across the roof, but looked away as he approached the roof’s edge, turning to hug Kirk’s mother, who was crying, according to AP.
Their embrace continued until the video ended.
The Robinsons arrived at court on Friday, with Amber wearing a long navy dress and Matt in a gray shirt and tie while clutching an energy drink with a gold skull logo emblazoned on the front
Images of the alleged murder weapon were shown in court for the first time. Prosecutors say Robinson was given the rifle by a family member
The five-day hearing ended without an immediate ruling on whether Robinson will stand trial.
Judge Tony Graf adjourned shortly before noon and set final arguments for September 1, after both prosecutors and defense attorneys requested additional time to review transcripts and submit written briefs summarizing their positions on the evidence.
The delay came as a surprise to some supporters gathered outside Fourth District Court in Provo.
Sarah Aught, who was at Utah Valley University the day Kirk was killed, told the Daily Mail: ‘I think they just want to be “extra careful” but in my opinion there’s enough evidence that they don’t need to be extra careful, they can just start preparing for trial.’
Aught said witnessing the shooting had profoundly affected her emotionally and changed the way she understands America’s political landscape.
‘I want this guy, Tyler Robinson, to be in jail,’ she said. ‘I want him not to be in the public view anymore.’
Also outside the court was Jack Posobiec, a close friend of Kirk’s, who was swarmed by a scrum of reporters after the hearing ended.
Posobiec did not object to the delay, insisting he supported ‘due process’ just as Kirk would have.
Jack Posobiec, a close friend of Kirk’s, spoke with reporters after the court adjourned
‘I want there to be a fair trial. Our country deserves a fair trial,’ he said. ‘That’s what Charlie stood for – he stood for fairness in the American justice system. That’s part of his legacy.’
But he said watching footage that prosecutors claim showed Robinson moving across campus before the shooting was excruciating for Kirk’s loved ones.
He likened the experience to seeing Kirk ‘die all over again.’
‘I don’t want any deals,’ Posobiec added, referring to the possibility Robinson could seek a plea agreement to avoid trial.
‘Charlie didn’t get a deal.’
The Robinsons remained silent as they left the court.
Farther down the road, Amber stopped to hug a loved one before disappearing into her hotel, her husband and one of her sons walking ahead of her.
