The judge presiding over pre-trial probable cause hearings for Tyler Robinson, the man accused in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, said he will wait two months before deciding whether the case should proceed to trial.
Utah District Judge Tony Graf set September 1 as the date for his ruling, when he is expected to determine whether Robinson will stand trial on murder charges and potentially face the death penalty.
Over the course of the weeklong hearing, prosecutors laid out what they described as extensive evidence linking Robinson to Kirk’s killing.
Their case included DNA allegedly recovered from a towel wrapped around the murder weapon, multiple purported confessions, and closely watched testimony from Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, who is transgender.
However, both prosecutors and defense attorneys asked for additional time to review hearing transcripts and file written briefs laying out their arguments, prompting Graf to schedule another hearing before issuing his final decision.
Shortly after Friday’s hearing ended, Kirk’s widow, Erika, submitted a legal filing pressing the judge to make his decision “promptly,” citing what her attorneys described as the “overwhelming evidence presented” by the prosecution.
“A prompt determination is imperative in the interest of justice,” Erika’s attorney, Jeffrey Nieman, wrote in the filing.
“The Court is approaching the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s death. Ten months have passed since the defendant was arrested, and the preliminary hearing has now concluded.”
Utah District Judge Tony Graf delayed making a final decision on whether to send Tyler Robinson to a murder trial over the assassination of Charlie Kirk until September 1
During the weeklong hearing, prosecutors have presented a raft of evidence that they say implicates Robinson in the assassination
Throughout five days of pre-trial hearings, prosecutors presented bombshell evidence alleging that Robinson had confessed several times to assassinating Kirk.
This included footage being played on Thursday showing Robinson’s former roommate and lover Lance Twiggs giving a police interview, where he claimed Robinson admitted he ‘wished he hadn’t done it.’
Twiggs also said in his video testimony that Robinson left him a handwritten note on the day Kirk was assassinated on September 10, 2025, which read: ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.’
The alleged confession note was presented alongside text messages that prosecutors say Robinson sent on the day Kirk was shot, in which he also admitted to the crime.
In the texts shown in court, Twiggs told Robinson he did not believe the confession note, writing: ‘You’re joking right?… You weren’t the one who did it right?’
Robinson allegedly replied, ‘I am, I’m sorry.’
He then allegedly discussed trying to hide the evidence, writing that he ‘planned to grab my rifle’ from a ‘drop point’ near to the shooting scene.
‘If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence,’ he wrote, per the texts.
‘Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven’t seen anything in the news about them finding it. Will update you by midnight.’
Twiggs then asked Robinson how long he had been planning the shooting, to which he replied: ‘A bit over a week, I believe.’
After Twiggs’ video statement to the police was played, prosecutors presented text messages allegedly sent between Robinson and Twiggs after Kirk was killed
In texts presented in court, Robinson allegedly discussed trying to get rid of the rifle used to shoot Kirk
Robinson allegedly then discussed trying to get rid of the rifle used to shoot Kirk, writing: ‘If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence’
Charlie Kirk seen moments before he was shot dead in front of a huge crowd at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025
Prosecutors also alleged that Robinson confessed to his parents, and then issued another confession in a chat room on the gaming platform Discord.
He allegedly wrote: ‘Hey guys, I have bad news for you all. It was me at UVU yesterday. I’m sorry for all of this. I’m surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments. Thanks for all the good times and laughs.’
Authorities said Twiggs quickly cooperated with investigators and offered his DNA for testing, and this week prosecutors said both Twiggs’ and Robinson’s DNA were found on a towel wrapped around the murder weapon.
