Tyler Robinson may learn today if he will stand trial for allegedly killing Charlie Kirk

PROVO — Tyler Robinson could learn Tuesday whether he will stand trial for allegedly shooting and killing conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.

The preliminary hearing for Robinson is expected to conclude in 4th District Judge Tony Graf's courtroom with closing arguments.

During the first half of the day, attorneys once again debated media accessibility and what could be classified as public.

Robinson, 23, is charged with seven crimes, the most serious being aggravated murder. Next week will mark one year since Kirk's death. He was killed on the campus of Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, during one of his Turning Point USA rallies.

A preliminary hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient probable cause to go to trial on the charges levied against a defendant. The Utah County Attorney's Office says it will seek the death penalty if Robinson is bound over and convicted of aggravated murder.

In July, prosecutors presented evidence during a week-long hearing that they believe ties Robinson to Kirk's assassination. The evidence included campus surveillance video, messages from Robinson himself claiming he shot Kirk, and a recorded interview with Robinson's roommate and lover, Lance Twiggs, who confirmed what Robinson told him about the crime.

Robinson's defense team called three forensic experts from the FBI and ATF to testify in an attempt to cast doubt on the reliability of DNA testing, arguing that test results are subjective. They also argued that much of the evidence presented by the state is hearsay and will be inadmissible at trial.

In addition, Robinson has been continuously opposed to live-streaming the preliminary hearing and pieces of evidence being photographed. Defense attorneys fear showing those items could taint a future jury pool and jeopardize their client's right to a fair trial, as they also point to the high level of interest the case has generated worldwide.

On Tuesday, the state and defense will each have two hours to present their closing arguments in Graf's courtroom. Following an hour-long break, Graf is expected to announce his decision regarding whether Robinson should be bound over for trial.

The day began, however, in a closed-door session as attorneys for mainly the defense and the media debated whether a recent court filing by Robinson should remain redacted.

In their latest request to keep cameras out of the courtroom, Robinson's defense team filed a motion that includes a redacted paragraph. The public version of the motion includes several blacked-out lines that come after the sentence, "Additional evidence of bias developing as a result of the widespread publication of this case can be tracked in real time."

On Tuesday, it was revealed that the redacted portion included a website address to an online gambling site that is taking bets on whether Robinson will be convicted. Robinson's defense team feared that releasing that information to the public would jeopardize the integrity of the jury pool.

But after hearing arguments on the motion behind closed doors, Graf ruled that the full motion could be made public and rejected an additional request by the defense, "in the interest of transparency," to file a substitute motion instead that would not name the website.

Over the weekend, Robinson's defense team also filed a "post-preliminary hearing status report" outlining the immense volume of evidence attorneys have received and need to review. The defense team has broken down the evidence into three categories: "Documentary, Forensic, and Miscellaneous Digital Evidence;" "Digital Evidence Requiring Specialized Processing and Analysis;" and "Forensic Discovery."

"While the defense has been diligently working its way through the disclosures, it is an inherently time-consuming process that is, in this instance, further complicated and slowed by a number of factors," the report states.

"The discovery produced in this matter includes a substantial volume of digital evidence that requires forensic processing before substantive review can be completed. Specifically, on March 13, the defense received a hard drive containing approximately 12.1 terabytes of digital forensic data, with 6,425 folders and 613,023 files. This production includes extractions of six mobile devices, fourteen forensic images of computer hard drives, and seven warrant returns or account records produced by third-party service providers."

This story will be updated. To be notified about updates, please click Follow This Story below on the KSL app.

Related topics