Defense attorneys seeking to undercut the prosecution’s case against alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson said Tuesday the state hasn’t proved a motive, but that Kirk “spoke hatefully” against certain people.
Defense attorney Richard Novak said several charges against Mr. Robinson lacked enough evidence to go to trial and that the prosecution had no proof Mr. Robinson was motivated to kill because he was in a gay relationship with a transgender individual, Lance Twiggs.
“It is true that Mr. Kirk spoke hatefully of certain groups of people,” Mr. Novak said of the conservative influencer. “He spoke hatefully of people who don’t have traditional norm-conforming gender identities, he spoke hatefully of people who are not strictly heterosexual.”
Mr. Novak said, “He spoke hatefully of people who have sexual relationships out of marriage, and yes, it is true that the evidence from Mr. Twiggs is that he identified in a non-gender-conforming way to his friends, and that he was in a romantic relationship with Mr. Robinson. But that doesn’t mean that those personal choices by Mr. Twiggs and by Mr. Robinson equate with the hate that at least Mr. Robinson says he had toward Mr. Kirk.”
District Judge Tony Graf in Utah heard arguments from prosecutors and defense lawyers ahead of his decision whether to allow the case against Mr. Robinson to go to trial. He is charged with aggravated murder and faces the death penalty.
Prosecutors say they have a mountain of evidence tying him to the Sept. 10, 2025, shooting of Kirk as the Turning Point USA co-founder held an event with students on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Defense attorney Staci Visser argued prosecutors lacked the evidence to prove aggravated murder, the charge that makes Mr. Robinson eligible for the death penalty, because the shooter did not take additional shots or shots that threatened anyone else in the crowd other than Kirk.
Defense attorney Michael Burt questioned the forensic evidence, pointing out ATF analyst Caitlin Oliver testified in July that Mr. Robinson was a “possible contributor” to the DNA found on the weapon.
“The state is over-reading the DNA evidence in this case when it asserts to the court that Mr. Robinson’s DNA was found all over the weapon,” Mr. Burt said.
Ms. Oliver testified in July that the DNA results on the weapon were “1 million times more likely” to support including Mr. Robinson as a contributor than an unrelated individual.
Utah County Deputy Attorney Ryan McBride argued DNA and video evidence, as well as Mr. Robinson’s admissions, prove the 23-year-old shot and killed Kirk.
“We have in this case the classic circumstantial evidence of motive, means, and opportunity. And then some,” he said.
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