Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who is accused of killing Charlie Kirk, appeared in court on September 29th remotely. At the hearing, his legal counsel decided to accept a preliminary hearing where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence to take Robinson to trial. Prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty as a sentence. According to CBS News, the court system in Utah allows someone accused of a crime the choice to waive their legal right to a preliminary hearing and skip straight to an arraignment where they can enter a plea. Kathryn Nester, the lead attorney of Robinson’s legal team, told Judge Tony Graf Jr, “Until we can kinda get our heads around exactly what we’re dealing with and how much we need to process, it’s going to be difficult for us to give you a reasonable expectation of when we will be ready to do the prelim.”
Graf informed both the prosecutors and defense that “He sits before this court presumed innocent, and that presumption remains unless and until each element of every offense charged against him is proved beyond a reasonable doubt, At the same time and as applicable, victims are entitled under our Constitution to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, free from harassment or abuse. Justice demands that both of these principles — the rights of the accused and the rights of victims — be honored without compromise.”
According to The Independent, Judge Graf added that he would not be pressured to rule a certain way. “Let me be clear, I will not put my finger on the scale of justice,” Graf said. He continued, saying, “Counsel, regardless of who is watching, whether it is the nation or a single individual, we must fulfill our roles with integrity, civility, and diligence.” During that same hearing, the defense and prosecution admitted that there is a lot of evidence in the case.
Citing court documents, CBS reports that Robinson allegedly sent a text stating, “To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age.” His roommate then asked if he was the one who shot Kirk and Robinson responded with, “I am, I’m sorry.”
The New York Post reports that the incriminating text messages and the initial contact Robinson had with a perimeter officer could provide a window for the defense to get a favorable verdict. The text messages lacked a timestamp, making it unclear where they fit in the timeline, and it is unknown if the perimeter officer had their body camera turned on. However, the documents used to charge Robinson excluded anything that could have been used against the prosecution. Robinson is scheduled to appear in court again on October 30th in person this time rather than remotely.
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