Utah judge allows prosecutors to seek death penalty in Charlie Kirk murder case

A Utah judge has cleared prosecutors to pursue the death penalty against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a college campus event last year.

Utah District Court Judge Tony Graf made the ruling after prosecutors presented what they called “overwhelming” evidence that a capital trial was warranted. Robinson, 23, faces seven charges, including aggravated murder for allegedly endangering other people at the event. That charge carries the death penalty in Utah.

Prosecutor Ryan McBride showed video that he said depicted Robinson taking a sniper position at Utah Valley University in Orem on September 10, 2025. Kirk, 31, was speaking at one of the campus debates that helped build his national profile when he was shot.

McBride told the court that Robinson lay prone, aimed at Kirk and fired while more than 3,000 people attended the event. He also pointed to four rounds in the rifle, arguing they showed Robinson was prepared to fire again if the first shot missed. Kirk’s security detail stood only feet away, prosecutors said.

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He lay down in a prone position, and he would have seen this mass of people of 3,000 plus people there for the event, took aim, put his crosshairs on Charlie Kirk, and fired.

“He lay down in a prone position, and he would have seen this mass of people of 3,000 plus people there for the event, took aim, put his crosshairs on Charlie Kirk, and fired,” McBride told the court.

Defense lawyer Staci Visser argued that the shooting endangered no one but Kirk and did not meet the standard for aggravated murder. She said the gunman fired once, did not reload or engage anyone else, and fled. “There is one act. There is one shot. There is one bullet. There is one victim,” Visser said.

Prosecutors cited test results that they said placed Robinson’s DNA on the alleged murder weapon. Defense lawyer Michael Burt challenged the reliability of the testing. Robinson has not entered a plea. An arraignment will follow the probable-cause ruling.

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There is one act. There is one shot. There is one bullet. There is one victim.