DNA evidence, roommate testimony presented in Charlie Kirk preliminary hearing

Hearing marks family’s first courtroom appearance with suspect

A Utah district judge is set to decide whether prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence for Tyler James Robinson, the man charged with murdering conservative activist Charlie Kirk, to stand trial after a five-day preliminary hearing concluded Friday in Provo.

Judge Tony Graf is expected to sift through the evidence presented by both the state and Robinson’s defense team in the coming weeks before issuing a ruling. The proceeding was the first time Kirk’s widow, Erika, and his parents were in the same courtroom as Robinson, whom prosecutors accuse of killing Kirk on Sept. 10, 2025.

Kirk, a prominent figure known for galvanizing young conservatives through his college-focused advocacy group Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck while on tour at Utah Valley University, where he was staging one of his marquee events.

The court heard critical evidence during the hearing, including forensic testing that prosecutors said linked Robinson’s DNA to the firearm used in the killing and video footage that they alleged shows him entering the campus and climbing to a rooftop perch. Portions of an investigatory interview with Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, were also played for the court. Twiggs testified that Robinson expressed remorse a day after Kirk’s death, saying he wished he “hadn’t done it.”

As previously reported by MSI, prosecutors had been presenting evidence for the preliminary hearing, which represented the most substantial formal presentation of evidence in the case so far.

Robinson’s defense strategy came into clearer view as his attorneys sought to cast doubt on the accuracy of the DNA testing. Judge Graf reminded the defense, at times, to steer clear of the minutiae as attorneys questioned witnesses.

“We don’t need to go 100 miles down a path where one mile is where probable cause may be,” Graf said in court Thursday. “I invite you to refocus … I’m not trying to limit your theories or such but I need to hold to probable cause.”