Judge Tony Graf ruled that prosecutors may continue seeking the death penalty against Tyler Robinson, who is accused of killing Charlie Kirk.

“The question at this stage, however, is not whether the state proved the aggravator beyond a reasonable doubt,” Graf said from the bench. “Because credible evidence and reasonable inferences support probable cause as to each element, under that limited standard, the state has met its burden.”

Graf emphasized that whether prosecutors can ultimately prove the aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt “remains for trial.”

The judge also found the state established probable cause for the victim-targeting allegation, allowing the capital sentencing enhancement to move forward as the case heads to trial.

New images from court show Tyler Robinson seated with his defense team Tuesday as both sides delivered closing arguments in his preliminary hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah.

Robinson, charged in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, is awaiting Judge Tony Graf’s bindover decision. Graf must determine whether prosecutors presented enough evidence on each count for the charges to move forward toward trial.

The judge put the court into recess while he returned to his chambers with 24 pages of notes he wrote during Tuesday’s proceedings. Graf said he planned to incorporate those notes into his bindover decision.

At the conclusion of the prosecution’s closing argument, Utah County Chief Deputy Attorney Chad Grunander told the court, “It’s been 356 days since Tyler Robinson assassinated Charlie Kirk. It’s time for him, the defendant, to be bound over for trial and arraigned today.”

A Utah judge is weighing whether Tyler Robinson will stand trial in the killing of Charlie Kirk and whether prosecutors can continue seeking the death penalty.

The central dispute during Tuesday’s oral arguments was whether Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Kirk at a Utah Valley University event, knowingly created a great risk of death to other people. Under Utah law, prosecutors must establish an aggravating circumstance for a murder charge to be eligible for capital punishment.

Prosecutors argued that firing from roughly 415 feet away at a crowded event put bystanders in danger, even though Kirk was the only person struck. They said even a small deviation in the rifle’s barrel could have shifted the bullet’s path by several feet and pointed to the attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, where three bystanders were shot and one was killed.

The defense countered that the evidence showed a single shot aimed at Kirk, not a shot through the crowd or conduct that directly endangered another person. Robinson’s attorneys have asked the court to strike the aggravating factor and limit the case before trial.

Judge Tony Graf said he would review the day’s arguments before issuing his bind-over ruling. If he finds probable cause, Robinson’s case will proceed to arraignment, where he would enter a plea.

A Utah judge recessed Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing Tuesday after both sides finished oral arguments, saying he will return with a decision on whether the case should move toward trial.

Utah County Chief Deputy Attorney Chad Grunander ended the state’s rebuttal by urging the court to bind Robinson over for trial and arraign him. “It’s been 356 days since Tyler Robinson assassinated Charlie Kirk,” Grunander said. “It’s time for him, the defendant, to be bound over for trial and arraigned today.”

Judge Tony Graf said he had taken 24 pages of notes during the arguments and needed an hour to incorporate them into his ruling. He acknowledged the hearing would resume after 5 p.m. local time but said he was committed to issuing a decision Tuesday.

Graf will determine whether prosecutors established probable cause to send Robinson to trial on the aggravated murder charge and other counts. The decision will also address whether the aggravating factor that keeps the death penalty in play remains in the case.

The families of Charlie Kirk and Tyler Robinson watched Tuesday’s arguments with markedly different reactions as attorneys debated whether the case should move toward trial as a potential death-penalty prosecution.

During the state’s presentation, Utah County Deputy Attorney Ryan McBride pointed toward Robinson as he argued prosecutors had a “mountain of evidence” tying him to Kirk’s killing. Robinson swayed in his chair at points and later wiped his face, while his family showed little visible reaction.

Kirk’s mother shook her head as McBride discussed video prosecutors say showed Robinson’s movements on the Utah Valley University campus. The Kirk family left the courtroom for much of the state’s presentation, while Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet remained. They returned near the end as McBride displayed exhibits showing children in the crowd around the event.

The family stayed as the defense took over. Robinson stared forward as defense attorney Staci Visser argued the shooting did not legally create a great risk of death to others. His father bowed his head, while Erika Kirk lowered her head as the defense discussed the bullet’s entry and trajectory. Her sister sat beside her with a hand on her back.

Tears were visible among Kirk’s relatives as defense attorney Richard Novak challenged the prosecution’s allegations and referred to Kirk’s views as hateful. Robinson’s mother held a tissue to her face as Novak argued that Robinson’s alleged text telling his roommate, Lance Twiggs, to remain silent was altruistic rather than witness tampering. Charlie Kirk’s mother shook her head as Novak disputed the allegation that Kirk was targeted.

After both prosecutors and the defense delivered their oral arguments Tuesday, Utah prosecutors told a judge that Tyler Robinson cannot avoid a death-penalty aggravating factor simply because the shot that killed Charlie Kirk hit its intended target.

Utah County Chief Deputy Attorney Chad Grunander made the remarks during the state’s rebuttal, arguing the issue is whether the alleged shooting created a great risk of death to other people — not whether someone besides Kirk was injured.

“Firing a gun into a crowd creates a zone of danger beyond that of a single intended target,” Grunander said.

Grunander pointed to people standing close to Kirk, including a security officer, the event’s questioner and others gathered around the tent. He said the alleged shooter fired from roughly 415 feet away, leaving little room for error in a location occupied by people attending, protecting or participating in the event.

Even a quarter-inch flinch, Grunander argued, could have shifted the bullet’s target point about 42 inches, while a half-inch movement could have moved it nearly seven feet. Prosecutors say that alleged risk to others supports the aggravating factor that would keep the death penalty in play if Robinson is convicted.

Tyler Robinson’s defense asked a Utah judge Tuesday to dismiss a witness-tampering charge, arguing that a text telling his roommate to ask for a lawyer and remain silent if questioned by police was legal advice — not an effort to obstruct the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s killing.

Defense attorney Richard Novak said the charge rests on messages Robinson allegedly sent to his roommate, Lance Twiggs: “If any police ask you questions, ask for a lawyer and stay silent. Make sure the police follow the right procedures, proper warrants and stuff. Be polite and respectful, of course.”

Novak argued the message was sent after Robinson allegedly said he intended to surrender to law enforcement and told Twiggs, “You are all I worry about, love.” He said the context showed Robinson was advising Twiggs to protect his own rights, not directing him to hide information or help Robinson avoid prosecution.

The defense also asked the court to reject an enhancement alleging the homicide occurred in the presence of a child younger than 14. Novak argued prosecutors showed that a child attended the event but did not establish that Robinson knew children were present when the shooting occurred.

Prosecutors have argued Robinson told Twiggs to stay silent to avoid giving incriminating information to police and that children were visible around the Utah Valley University event.

Tyler Robinson’s defense told a Utah judge Tuesday that prosecutors cannot keep the death penalty in play merely because Charlie Kirk was shot at a crowded event, arguing the state failed to show that anyone else was actually in danger.

Defense attorney Staci Visser asked Judge Tony Graf to strike the aggravating factor tied to the aggravated murder charge. She said the state’s theory would unconstitutionally expand the law by treating the presence of people near Kirk as enough to establish that Robinson knowingly created a great risk of death to another person.

Visser argued the evidence shows a single shot from a high-powered rifle about 415 feet away, striking Kirk in the left side of his neck at a downward angle. She said the alleged shooter did not reload, fire again, point the rifle at anyone else or threaten anyone else, and argued that no one stood behind Kirk when the shot was fired.

The defense also accused prosecutors of asking the court to speculate about evidence offered to identify Robinson as the shooter. Visser challenged the state’s reliance on a screwdriver found on the roof, targets recovered from a shared apartment and additional ammunition in the rifle, saying prosecutors had not established enough evidence to show those items proved the shooter knew others could be harmed.

Visser said the open-air setting and the location of people around Kirk did not place anyone else in a legally defined zone of danger. Prosecutors have argued that the alleged shot into a crowd of more than 3,000 people created a great risk of death, supporting the aggravating factor that makes Robinson eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors invoked the assassination attempt against President Trump as they argued Tyler Robinson knowingly created a great risk of death when he allegedly fired at Charlie Kirk during a crowded Utah Valley University event.

Utah County Deputy Attorney Ryan McBride argued that Robinson allegedly fired a high-powered rifle from about 400 feet away into a crowd of more than 3,000 people.

He said a one-degree variance in the shot could have moved the bullet’s path roughly seven feet from its intended target and noted that people were moving throughout the area surrounding Kirk in the seconds before the shooting.

McBride pointed to the shooting at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally, where errant shots struck three people and killed one, as an example of the danger posed by firing at a public event. He also argued that Robinson’s alleged target-practice records showed he knew he could miss and that he brought additional rounds to the event.

Prosecutors asked Judge Tony Graf to find probable cause that Robinson knowingly created a great risk of death — the aggravating factor that keeps the death penalty in play. McBride also urged the judge to bind over additional charges alleging Robinson hid the rifle, disposed of clothing and told his roommate, Lance Twiggs, to delete messages and remain silent.

Prosecutors’ opening oral arguments in Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing began Tuesday after the court returned from its lunch recess.

Utah County Deputy Attorney Ryan McBride opened by accusing Robinson of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk because he disagreed with him.

McBride said there was a “mountain of evidence” identifying Robinson as the shooter as Judge Tony Graf weighs whether prosecutors presented enough probable cause to send the aggravated murder case to trial.

After prosecutors finish, Robinson’s attorneys will present their arguments, followed by a state rebuttal. Graf said he plans to issue his bind-over decision Tuesday after taking time to consider both sides’ arguments.

Tyler Robinson appeared in wrist restraints Tuesday as his family and Charlie Kirk’s relatives watched from the gallery during a pivotal Utah court hearing.

Robinson wore a gray suit, light blue shirt and navy tie. His family sat in the first row, while Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents sat in the third row alongside Turning Point USA representatives. Before proceedings began, Robinson spoke with defense attorneys Scott Novak and Staci Visser, and the group was seen smiling.

The hearing opened with a dispute over electronic media coverage. Robinson’s lead defense attorney, Kathryn Nester, sought to withdraw a redacted reference to the online prediction market Polymarket from the court’s consideration, but Judge Tony Graf denied the request. As Nester argued to limit the release of exhibits, Robinson’s mother nodded from the gallery.

The Kirk family grew visibly emotional as the court discussed sensitive exhibits connected to the shooting. Erika Kirk lowered her head as attorneys described the shooting, and tissues were passed through the family’s row. Kirk’s parents also leaned into one another as Graf read his ruling on electronic media coverage.

As prosecutor Ryan McBride argued to display exhibits during oral arguments, Erika Kirk watched with pursed lips while she and Kirk’s parents looked down during discussion of shooting-related imagery. Law enforcement, including SWAT personnel, rotated two officers on each side of the courtroom throughout the proceedings.

Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing broke for lunch after the judge ruled on which prosecution exhibits could be shown during oral arguments and which would remain off the livestream.

Prosecutor Ryan McBride said he planned to use exhibits introduced during July’s preliminary hearing, including still images taken from videos that had not previously been broadcast because they showed minors or sensitive aspects of Charlie Kirk’s shooting. Judge Tony Graf instructed lawyers to seek permission before displaying any exhibit and said the courtroom monitor would be turned away from cameras unless an image had been cleared for broadcast.

Graf allowed several exhibits to be shown only inside the courtroom, including still images from videos connected to the shooting and certain Discord communications prosecutors say involved Robinson. The judge denied publication of another exhibit after the defense argued it was hearsay. Graf also said the court would give advance notice before displaying sensitive material so Kirk’s family and others could leave the courtroom if they wished.

McBride said he needed time to adjust his presentation so restricted exhibits would not be inadvertently broadcast. The defense did not object, and the court recessed for lunch before prosecutors’ substantive arguments were set to begin at 1:10 p.m. MDT.

Judge Tony Graf said he will issue a bind-over decision in Tyler Robinson’s case Tuesday after hearing final arguments from prosecutors and the defense.

Graf said he allowed supplemental briefing and separate oral arguments so he could revisit the evidence before ruling on whether prosecutors established enough probable cause to send Robinson’s case to trial. He said he wants to issue a decision that “balances the constitutional rights of the parties” on each count.

Prosecutors are set to argue first, followed by the defense. Each side was given up to two hours, though prosecutors said their opening presentation would likely last about 40 minutes before the court breaks for lunch.

Defense attorney Staci Visser said the defense expects to use about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.

After the defense concludes, prosecutors will have a final rebuttal. Graf said he will then take up to an hour to consider the arguments before announcing his bind-over decisions on the record.

Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk and faces an aggravated murder charge that carries a potential death penalty.

Judge Tony Graf denied Tyler Robinson’s request to restrict public access to portions of his opposition to electronic media coverage and granted news organizations’ camera requests in part Tuesday, finding the defense had not shown that broadcasting legal arguments would create enough additional prejudice to outweigh the presumption of openness.

Robinson’s attorneys had asked the court to classify unredacted filings that included links and other identifying details for an online betting market tied to the case. The defense argued that publishing the information could draw more speculative interest to the death-penalty case, affect the jury pool and compound the effects of pretrial publicity.

Graf said the defense raised legitimate concerns about pretrial publicity and its potential effect on a future jury. But he said the narrower question was whether broadcasting legal arguments about evidence already presented at July’s preliminary hearing created sufficient “incremental prejudice” to overcome the rule favoring electronic media coverage. The court found that Robinson had not met that burden.

The judge also rejected the defense’s procedural objections to the court’s rules for handling media-coverage requests. In a written ruling expected to be posted Tuesday, Graf said the public and press have strong constitutional and common-law rights of access to criminal proceedings, while noting that coverage remains subject to case-specific limits and courtroom-decency rules.

Spectators attending Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing were warned Tuesday not to make audible or visible reactions as the court considers whether to send the accused Charlie Kirk killer’s case to trial.

The judge barred attendees from making comments, shaking or nodding their heads, gesturing, or wearing clothing, signs or other items supporting or opposing anyone connected to the case. Spectators also cannot display material expressing a position on whether the case should remain death-penalty eligible.

The warning came as the court turned to Robinson’s defense challenge to electronic media coverage. In a closed hearing before the public proceedings began, attorneys discussed a request to redact part of the defense filing. Lead defense attorney Kathryn Nester then asked to withdraw from the court’s consideration the name and identifying information of a website referenced in the motion, saying its inclusion could jeopardize Robinson’s ability to receive a fair proceeding.

An attorney representing the news media objected, arguing the defense could not remove material after submitting it to the court. The judge denied the defense request, citing transparency and the constitutional rights of both Robinson and Kirk, and said the court would rule on the motion as filed. Cameras were allowed in the courtroom so the ruling could be made publicly.

Charlie Kirk’s parents, Rob and Kathy Kirk, arrived at a Utah courthouse Tuesday for a pivotal hearing in the murder case against Tyler Robinson.

Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in September 2025. He faces an aggravated murder charge that could carry the death penalty.

The judge is weighing whether prosecutors presented enough probable cause to send the case to trial. Robinson could also be arraigned and asked to enter a plea for the first time if the case is bound over.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Trusty said the judge overseeing Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing should quickly find probable cause and move the aggravated murder case toward trial, arguing that the potential death penalty has made the court overly cautious.

Trusty, who was a guest on Fox and Friends on Tuesday morning, said preliminary hearings can be resolved in as little as an hour, but Robinson’s case has stretched over months of proceedings and was set for hours of argument over whether prosecutors established an aggravating factor.

He said the evidence prosecutors presented made it “overwhelmingly easy” to find probable cause — a low legal standard.

Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in September 2025.

Trusty argued that the question of whether Robinson’s alleged actions created a serious risk of death for others in the crowd should ultimately be left for a jury, rather than delaying the case at the preliminary-hearing stage.

Trusty said a plea agreement carrying a life sentence could offer finality and avoid years of appeals, though he questioned whether prosecutors would consider one. He said the state may instead decide to press forward with its case and decline to entertain plea negotiations.

An armored sheriff’s truck believed to be carrying Tyler Robinson was seen Tuesday near the Utah courthouse ahead of a pivotal hearing in the Charlie Kirk murder case.

Robinson faces an aggravated murder charge in connection with the Sept. 10, 2025 shooting of Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.

A judge was expected to decide whether prosecutors presented enough probable cause to send the case to trial — a ruling that could preserve the potential death penalty.

Robinson could also have been arraigned and asked to enter a plea for the first time if the judge bound the case over for trial.

Utah Valley University students were gripped by anxiety in the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s killing last year, but that fear has largely faded as the case against the man accused of shooting him moves through court, a professor and retired FBI agent told Fox News Digital.

Greg Rogers, who teaches at UVU and previously served as an FBI agent, said students were stunned that violence could erupt on a campus they viewed as safe. Many of his students were between 19 and 23 years old and had never expected something like that to happen there, he said.

Rogers said he received messages from students through the school’s Canvas communication system asking whether it was safe to return to class. He reassured them that he believed it was, while acknowledging that an open campus cannot eliminate every threat.

Now, Rogers said, the overriding fear and anxiety have subsided. His students — including juniors who were on campus when Kirk was killed — are more comfortable discussing the crime scene and are closely following the court case against Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at UVU.

Accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson returns to a Utah courtroom Tuesday for a hearing that could send his case to trial or dramatically reshape it, with a judge to weigh whether prosecutors have shown enough probable cause to support the aggravated murder charge that puts the death penalty on the table — and the suspect may finally be asked to enter a plea nearly a year after the slaying.

Robinson, a 23-year-old from Washington, Utah, is accused of firing a single shot that killed the 31-year-old father of two during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025.

While the defense has argued that prosecutors have not established enough probable cause to pursue aggravated murder, which carries the potential death penalty, experts tell Fox News Digital that they don’t expect Judge Tony Graf Jr. to take it off the table just yet.

“We’re at a preliminary hearing stage, so we’re at a very low burden,” said Skye Lazaro, a Salt Lake City-based defense attorney who is not connected to the case. “It’s probable cause, and everything is taken in a light most favorable to the state.”

Find out more about Tuesday’s hearing.

This is an excerpt from a story by Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz.