Utah prosecutors are pressing a judge to advance every charge against Tyler Robinson to trial in the killing of Charlie Kirk, telling the court the case is backed by substantial evidence and opposing the defense’s attempt to remove the possibility of a death sentence.
In a 19-page filing submitted Tuesday, the prosecution answered a defense motion that asks Judge Tony Graf to dismiss the only aggravating factor that could make Robinson eligible for the death penalty.
Defense attorneys contend that prosecutors have not demonstrated the shooting placed anyone other than Kirk at serious risk of death.
Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at his first in-person court appearance Dec. 11, 2025. (Pool/KSL-TV)
Prosecutors disputed that claim, saying the evidence indicates Robinson allegedly used his grandfather’s high-powered rifle and fired in the direction of a crowd numbering in the thousands, with multiple people either near Kirk or in the potential path of the shot.
The state also pushed back on the defense’s assertion that the bullet passed over the crowd, arguing that individuals close to Kirk remained inside the “zone of danger” created when Robinson allegedly pulled the trigger.
“The evidence here easily establishes at least probable cause” that Robinson knowingly created a great risk of death to others, prosecutors wrote, adding that the record is “more than sufficient to support a finding beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Prosecutors also challenged the defense’s wider attack on the evidence introduced during Robinson’s preliminary hearing.
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at Fourth District Court July 8, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (Tess Crowley – Pool/Getty Images)
“Defendant does not challenge the substance of the evidence demonstrating that he was the person who crawled to the sniper’s perch on the Losee Building rooftop, fired the fatal shot that killed Mr. Charlie Kirk, hid the rifle in a wooded area, got rid of some of the clothing he was wearing, and told his roommate to delete their texts about the shooting,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors also accused Robinson’s attorneys of relying on case law that was later rejected by the Utah Supreme Court while failing to alert the judge to those later decisions.
“This blatant omission violates counsel’s duty of candor to the court,” prosecutors wrote.
The filing also defends a witness-tampering charge involving Robinson’s roommate and an allegation that Robinson committed a violent offense in the presence of a child.
Charlie Kirk throws hats to the crowd after arriving at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Prosecutors also argue there is evidence Kirk was targeted because of his political expression, pointing in part to a cartridge engraved with the words “Hey fascist, catch.”
Robinson, 23, is accused of fatally shooting Kirk, 31, as Kirk spoke at Utah Valley University Sept. 10, 2025. Robinson has not entered a plea.
Graf is expected to decide at a Sept. 1 hearing whether prosecutors have shown enough probable cause to send the case to trial.
