Nearly one year after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was gunned down during a college event in front of thousands of people, a judge ruled Tuesday night the suspected killer should stand trial.

Kirk died in September 2025 in a shooting at Utah Valley University during an event for his political organization, Turning Point USA. Prosecutors said Tyler Robinson, a 23-year-old who lived hours away and did not attend the university, fired the fatal shot from an on-campus rooftop.

Prosecutors laid out evidence during a five-day preliminary hearing held in July intended to determine whether there was probable cause to proceed to trial. In the weeks since, the defense and prosecution have traded written arguments, and both sides returned to court Tuesday to argue again before Judge Tony Graf Jr. made his decision.

 Tyler James Robinson shot and killed Charlie Kirk because he disagreed with him,  prosecutor Ryan McBride told the judge Tuesday.  And he did it by firing a high-powered rifle into a crowd of over 3,000 people. 

The suspect's defense team spent much of its time Tuesday arguing against an aggravating factor that made the murder case eligible for the death penalty: the allegation that bystanders were also at risk of being killed during the shooting. The defense said there was no proof anyone besides Kirk was in danger of dying, but Graf's ruling left the death penalty on the table as the case moves forward.

Robinson pleaded not guilty to all counts during arraignment on Tuesday.

An attorney for the Kirk family said Tuesday they would request a speedy trial. Erika Kirk also released a statement, which read in part:

 As the next phase of the judicial process begins, our family remains united in our love for Charlie, our commitment to the pursuit of justice, and our prayer for a transparent and timely process. 

Prosecution details  a mountain of evidence 

Prosecutor Ryan McBride laid out four reasons Tuesday why the state knows Robinson is the killer: video evidence, DNA evidence, admissions by the suspect, and circumstantial evidence.

First, McBride said, surveillance video f

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