Judge in Charlie Kirk murder case sends it to trial and clears way for possible death penalty

Nine days before the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s killing — a death the Trump movement turned into a symbol and an emblem of vengeance for the MAGA movement — a Utah state judge has sent the case to trial and ruled there is sufficient evidence to seek the death penalty against Tyler James Robinson, the 23-year-old accused of climbing onto a building roof, aiming at a crowd gathered at Utah Valley University, and shooting his target.

The world watched on video as the leader of Turning Point USA uttered the final words of his speech and collapsed to his left, blood spurting from his neck. He died in front of his thousands of supporters and the highly polarized U.S. political sphere.

It took 33 hours for the attacker to turn himself in to authorities, following an exhaustive investigation to determine the motive behind the death of the ultra-conservative speaker — a father of two young children and a friend of Donald Trump — an incident classified, above all, as a “political assassination.” Now the prosecution is charging Robinson with aggravated murder, arguing that he “knowingly created a risk of death” by firing into a crowd and endangering the lives of thousands of people. The defendant and his defense team deny this charge and six others related to the events that led to Kirk’s death.

“The defendant, this man, Tyler James Robinson, shot and killed Charlie Kirk because he disagreed with him, and he did it by firing a high-powered rifle into a crowd of over 3,000 people, which created a great risk of death that anyone would know about,” said Ryan McBride, prosecutor with the Utah County Attorney’s Office. However, one of Robinson’s attorneys, Staci Visser, pushed back: “There was a single shot. There was a single bullet. There was a single victim,” she said. “There is no evidence that any action was taken against other people.”

Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, his widow Erika Kirk and several Turning Point USA members who arrived with signs supporting the family appeared in court. Also present were Amber Robinson and Matt Robinson, Tyler Robinson’s parents.

According to breaking coverage in The New York Times, during a weeklong hearing last July prosecutors presented “a large amount of evidence against the suspect,” including surveillance videos and text messages Robinson sent to his boyfriend and roommate. In one message he told him he had decided to end Kirk’s life because he “was fed up with his hate.” Earlier reports said the attacker left a written note telling his boyfriend: “I had the chance to end Charlie Kirk and I took it.”

Robinson’s defense maintained that the young man fired only once and hit the “intended target.” “The shooter did not miss his target and did not chamber another round, leaving the cartridge case in the rifle,” they said. They have also questioned DNA and other forensic evidence in the killing, insisted the crime was motivated by Kirk’s ideas, and even argued Robinson should not face the death penalty. Still, Judge Tony Graf left the decision on whether to sentence Robinson to the maximum penalty to a Utah jury.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition