A judge in Utah has delayed a decision over the start date for the trial of the man accused of killing prominent right-wing activist Charlie Kirk
At a hearing in Provo, Utah, District Court Judge Tony Graf heard arguments from defence lawyers, prosecutors and a lawyer for Mr Kirk’s widow, Erika , before saying he needed to consider their positions.
Tyler Robinson has pleaded not guilty to seven counts, including aggravated murder, for allegedly shooting Mr Kirk as he held one of his trademark debates at Utah Valley University in Orem.
The 23-year-old’s lawyers expect a potential trial to last between six and seven months.
According to a scheduling memo, Mr Robinson’s attorneys had asked for a late 2029 trial to give them time to challenge Utah’s request for the death penalty, gather additional evidence and seek a change of venue, among other issues.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, sought a January 31, 2028, start date for what they expect to be a 17-week trial, according to their scheduling memo.
In a separate filing, Mrs Kirk said the defence request was “grossly out of line with comparable cases”.
She requested the trial start no later than October 4, 2027.
Shortly before the hearing, President Donald Trump, with whom Kirk had been allied, slammed Graf’s handling of the case in a social media post, saying it should be tried within a month, adding Justice Graf was asking “questions that people already know the answer to.”
Mr Kirk, a controversial figure in US politics, was admired by conservatives for mobilising young voters around his Christian and right-wing views.
However, his opponents criticised his rhetoric on immigration, race, gender and other social issues.
Prosecutors have alleged Mr Robinson targeted Mr Kirk for his open and outspoken opposition to gay marriage and transgender rights.
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Defence attorney Richard Novak has said Mr Kirk spoke “hatefully” about people who did not have traditional gender identities or were not heterosexual.
At a hearing last month, Utah County prosecutor Ryan McBride said Mr Robinson posed a “great risk of death” to others as Mr Kirk’s security detail was just feet away from the speaker at the time of the shooting.
Mr McBride told the court the four rounds in the rifle were evidence that if Mr Kirk’s shooter missed, he was willing to fire more rounds.
He said: “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.”
Defending, Staci Visser insisted only Mr Kirk was a target.
She said: “There is one act. There is one shot. There is one bullet. There is one victim. There was no evidence that would suggest that anyone else was threatened.”
Alleged DNA evidence, confessions to loved ones and a taped video statement addressed to a roommate and romantic partner were all raised during the hearing’s closing arguments.
Mr McBride said: “We know that the defendant is the shooter…first, because of the video evidence; second, because of the DNA; third, because of his admissions; and fourth, because of circumstantial evidence.”
Mr Kirk was hosting a debate at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on September 10, 2025, taking questions from students about school shootings.
After responding to a question about transgender school shooters, he was shot in the neck with a single bullet.
He was later pronounced dead at Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem.
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