Here’s what unfolded in court before Charlie Kirk’s accused killer pleaded not guilty — and what comes next

By Andi Babineau, Emma Tucker, CNN

Provo, Utah (CNN) — Seated only two rows apart, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the mother of his accused killer, Tyler Robinson, were both visibly emotional as a judge ruled the case can move to trial.

Family members of both Kirk and Robinson shifted between leaning over, looking up, crying and wiping away tears during the last hour of the preliminary hearing Tuesday as they listened to Utah District Court Judge Tony Graf recount the events leading up to the shooting on a Utah college campus nearly a year ago.

Robinson, 23, pleaded not guilty during an arraignment after the judge ruled there is sufficient probable cause for him to face trial on all seven counts, including aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury.

Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted of aggravated murder.

The prosecution and defense both gave closing arguments Tuesday during the second preliminary hearing since July, which is a limited purpose proceeding held for a judge to determine whether the charges are justified. Defense attorneys often use this proceeding to question the credibility of evidence or witnesses called.

The judge’s ruling, nearly a year after Kirk’s killing, is an “important step in our family’s pursuit of justice,” his family said in a statement released after the ruling was issued.

As prosecutors made their closing arguments, Charlie Kirk’s parents, Rob and Kathryn Kirk, and his widow, Erika Kirk, were visibly emotional and appeared to comfort each other at various times.

On the other side of the room sat Amber Robinson, who was the most emotional of the Robinson family throughout the hearing as she listened to the allegations against her son.

Here’s what happened at the hearing and what comes next:

Emotions reached a height as judge read ruling aloud

At around 5:15 p.m., Judge Graf started the ruling phase of the hearing. Robinson’s mother almost immediately started crying, wiping away tears while she listened to him.

As the judge started relaying the facts surrounding the Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem where Kirk was fatally shot, Erika Kirk dabbed her tears and leaned forward, with an unidentifiable person next to her rubbing her back.

Robinson’s father closed his eyes and leaned forward as he listened to Graf describe messages his son sent his former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, telling him not to talk to police.

He reached for his wife’s hand as Graf read aloud his ruling and repeated the aggravated murder count, which makes their son eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Amber Robinson fought back tears, her eyes red and welling up.

Two rows back sat Charlie Kirk’s father, who was bent forward, and mother, who wasn’t reacting physically but taking in what the judge was saying. Erika Kirk wiped tears away and leaned forward covering her mouth as Graf continued delivering his ruling.

When the Kirk family attorney spoke about how Charlie Kirk stood for the opposite of hate, Erika Kirk was crying and nodding along.

The outcome of the hearing was somewhat expected by both families; the Kirk family seemingly displayed feelings of relief.

The next scheduled court date is October 23, at which point the judge has indicated he will schedule a date for the trial.

What prosecutors said in closing arguments

Robinson, dressed in a light gray suit and dark tie, sat between his lawyers and engaged with them prior to the hearing. At one point, he was seen cracking a smile, a departure from his otherwise impassive nature throughout the hearings.

Erika Kirk was also wearing a gray jacket, seated alongside Charlie Kirk’s mother and father. When the judge discussed whether still frames from video of the shooting would be shown in court, she briefly held her head in her hands.

Her 31-year-old husband had earned broad name recognition for his outspoken, often brash, rhetoric around controversial issues as the co-founder of the nonprofit conservative organization Turning Point USA.

News, along with graphic video, of the shooting on September 10, 2025, spread far beyond the shaken campus community in Orem as an intense, 30-plus hour manhunt for Kirk’s shooter ensued.

The search ended when Robinson surrendered at his local sheriff’s office, accompanied by his parents, who had recognized his picture in the news and convinced him to turn himself in.

At the start of the prosecution’s closing arguments, Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride said the evidence shows Robinson killed Kirk “because he disagreed with him.”

The evidence, which proves there is probable cause to proceed to trial, shows that Robinson fired a high-power rifle into the crowd of people Kirk was talking to at the university, McBride argued.

After scouting vantage points on campus, McBride said Robinson returned to the school “dressed to kill,” having changed into a black shirt and long pants to “obscure the rifle he had concealed down his pants.”

Robinson was spotted on camera earlier in the day scouting locations before he returned armed, the prosecutor continued. He then used a screwdriver that he left behind at the location to reassemble a portion of the rifle and made his way to the roof, McBride said.

While lying in a prone position, Robinson would have seen this mass of more than 3,000 people there for the event, taken aim, put his crosshairs on Charlie Kirk, and fired,” the prosecutor added.

In doing so, the prosecutor argued, the aggravating circumstance included in the charges against Robinson is valid because he knowingly created a risk of death to everyone in the immediate area. Testimony shows Robinson was about 415 feet away from Kirk when he fired his rifle, which prosecutors said could have struck someone feet away from his alleged target if the barrel had moved so much as half an inch.

Erika Kirk and other family members left the courtroom as soon as McBride started discussing details of the medical examiner’s report that described how her husband was killed.

Early on in McBride’s closing arguments, he shared details from the report that said the bullet Robinson allegedly fired struck Kirk’s spine and shattered.

After the Kirk family re-entered the room, Erika Kirk looked toward the floor as McBride finished his argument.

Why the defense is challenging the aggravated circumstance

After the prosecution wrapped its closing arguments, Robinson’s defense team began their own before the prosecution would be allowed to rebut.

Defense attorney Staci Visser said the conditions to include “risk of death” as an aggravating circumstance had not been met and pointed to several previous cases she said established three factors to consider.

They include the connection between the killing and endangering other people, the spatial relationship between the victim and other people and the extent to which other people were threatened.

“There were no actual threats by the assailant to the third party. There was no evidence that would suggest that anyone else was threatened,” she said.

Visser also challenged the prosecution’s framing of its evidence, arguing it relies on speculation.

“The state asks the court to draw inferences from evidence that appear to have been admitted primarily for the purpose of establishing identity but is now trying to construe it in such a way that it shows knowledge,” she said.

Richard Novak, another defense attorney, then argued texts Robinson allegedly sent to Twiggs, discussing a rifle, possible motive and other details on the planning surrounding the event are expected to be key evidence in the state’s case.

The messages were made public in charging documents last year, which also refer to the roommate as Robinson’s romantic partner.

CNN transcribed the texts, which police say were provided to them by the former roommate, from the charging documents, which show Robinson texting Twiggs: “I am, I’m sorry,” in response to his question about whether he was the one who fatally shot Kirk.

Case law requires the court to determine if Robinson’s statements were “intended to obstruct justice or were altruistic,” Novak said.

The court has to determine whether there is probable cause, and whether or not Charlie Kirk “was targeted because of his political expressions” from Robinson’s perspective, he added.

There’s no evidence in any previous testimony or public statements, he argued, that could reveal what opinions Robinson held – if any at all – about Kirk and said the inference is “inflammatory.”

What happened in court the months leading up to the ruling

In his rebuttal, the final argument of the hearing before the judge’s ruling, prosecutor Chad Grunander said as attorneys they are allowed to talk about evidence and “the inferences of what would happen.”

Grunander went over the distance between the shooter and Kirk – 415 feet – and the large margin of error separating Kirk from the people around him in what he described as a “zone of danger.”

The area was “full of people” who were moving and shifting, which presented a great risk of death, he added.

Both sides had six weeks between the initial arguments and closings, during which they submitted their written briefs summarizing their cases, and prepared to present closing arguments.

Before the hearing Tuesday, arguments took place over five days the week of July 6. Prosecutors divided their case into four categories: video evidence, circumstantial evidence, DNA evidence and what they described as “confessions” Robinson made.

Surveillance footage from Utah Valley University was used to create a timeline of Robinson’s alleged movements the day of Kirk’s shooting. One investigator testified Robinson can be seen on the UVU campus four times the day Kirk was killed, including immediately before and after the shooting.

Social media video of the event, professional video commissioned by Turning Point USA and Nest doorbell footage also was introduced as evidence.

Circumstantial evidence was used to tie Robinson to the area, such as a rifle found wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near campus and four rounds with messages etched into the side, prosecutors showed.

Robinson’s defense, for its part, worked to discredit the state’s witnesses and the interpretations of data by forensic examiners.

Evidence of Robinson’s “confessions,” as prosecutors called them, came from letters, messages and, most notably, a taped video deposition of Twiggs.

“I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it,” prosecutors said Robinson wrote in a note left for Twiggs.

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CNN’s Cindy Von Quednow, Maureen Chowdhury and Elise Hammond contributed to this report.