Accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson asks judge to take potential death penalty off table

Lawyers for accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson are arguing that prosecutors haven't established a lawsuit for the imaginable decease punishment successful a caller tribunal filing made nationalist Tuesday night.

"The facts and the instrumentality necessitate this Court to onslaught the sole aggravating factor," defence attorneys Kathy Nester, Michael Burt, Richard Novak and Staci Visser wrote successful a 41-page brief.

After a week-long preliminary proceeding successful aboriginal July, Judge Tony Graf Jr. gave some sides successful the lawsuit clip to record briefs earlier helium makes a determination connected whether determination is capable probable origin to nonstop the lawsuit to proceedings — which helium is expected to denote connected Sept. 1.

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Charlie Kirk speaks astatine Utah Valley University connected September 10, 2025 successful Orem, Utah. Kirk, laminitis of Turning Point USA, was speaking astatine his "American Comeback Tour" erstwhile helium was changeable successful the cervix and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

Robinson, 23, is accused of shooting the 31-year-old Kirk astatine Utah Valley University connected Sept. 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA event. Kirk had founded the radical to beforehand conservatism connected campuses astir the state and was speaking successful beforehand of a assemblage of much than 2,000 successful the courtyard erstwhile helium was struck and killed by a azygous bullet.

Robinson's defence argued successful Tuesday's filing that prosecutors didn't found probable origin concerning the aggravating origin — that the shooting created a precocious probability of decease to idiosyncratic different than Kirk and that Robinson knew of that "high probability."

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Tyler Robinson, accused of the execution of Charlie Kirk, appears during a proceeding successful Fourth District Court successful Provo, Utah, Thursday, December, 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via Pool)

Without the aggravator, the imaginable decease punishment would beryllium taken disconnected the table.

"The State had implicit 10 months to analyse the shooting decease of Charlie Kirk and to make legally capable grounds that Mr. Robinson 'knowingly created a large hazard of decease to different another than Charlie Kirk and the defendant,' the sole aggravator alleged successful the Information which successful mentation exposes Mr. Robinson to the imaginable punishment of death," Robinson's attorneys wrote. "The State’s presumption of its grounds arsenic to this alleged condition successful aggravation astatine the preliminary proceeding successful July 2026 wholly fails to transportation its load of proof."

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Robinson's lawyers noted that determination was lone 1 changeable fired and that it struck Kirk. No 1 other was hit.

People tally aft shots were fired during an quality by Charlie Kirk astatine Utah Valley University connected September 10, 2025 successful Orem, Utah. Kirk, laminitis of Turning Point USA, was speaking astatine his "American Comeback Tour" erstwhile helium was changeable successful the cervix and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

They besides argued that nary 1 other was successful the enactment of occurrence — noting that the slug came from the rooftop, pursuing a downward trajectory earlier striking Kirk.

"The lone grounds presented supports that the slug travelled above, not through, the crowd," they wrote.

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When the suspected execution limb was recovered, a .30-06 bolt-action Mauser rifle, determination was a spent casing successful the enclosure and 3 unfired rounds.

A assemblage watches arsenic Charlie Kirk appears astatine Utah Valley University connected September 10, 2025 successful Orem, Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

And the grounds introduced by Utah County prosecutors indicates Kirk was the lone target, according to the defence filing.

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"The communications the State admitted betwixt Mr. Robinson and Mr. Twiggs bespeak Mr. Robinson’s volition to termination Charlie Kirk," the defence wrote, citing an alleged connection from Robinson: "I had the accidental to instrumentality retired Charlie Kirk and I took it."

"There is nary notation of immoderate menace oregon intended harm to immoderate different individual(s)."

Prosecutors person a deadline adjacent week to reply to the brief. Graf's determination is expected astatine the Sept. 1 hearing.

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Donna Rotunno, a Chicago-based lawyer and Fox News contributor, said Robinson's statement is simply a long-shot, particularly astatine the probable origin signifier of the case.

"The grounds successful the preliminary proceeding has already proven that determination were galore radical there," she told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "The grounds has shown wherever the shooter was vs wherever Charlie was and wherever the changeable was taken from, the magnitude of radical who were successful the enactment of fire. They tin reason those facts from different pieces of grounds that they've introduced. They didn’t request idiosyncratic specifically to get connected the witnesser basal and accidental determination were each these radical successful danger."

People tally aft shots were fired during an quality by Charlie Kirk astatine Utah Valley University connected September 10, 2025 successful Orem, Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Prosecutors person alleged that Robinson is the antheral who appears connected surveillance video approaching a sniper's perch. According to investigators, the slayer opened occurrence from a rooftop connected the acold broadside of the packed courtyard, which was afloat of spectators.

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"If you thrust a car into a crowd, that full assemblage is successful danger," Rotunno added. "I don’t deliberation that statement is simply a stretch."

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TPUSA laminitis Charlie Kirk appears astatine a Utah Valley University speaking lawsuit successful Orem, Utah, U.S. September 10, 2025. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via REUTERS)

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Robinson's lawyers besides renewed their effort to propulsion retired hearsay grounds from the preliminary proceeding , arguing that prosecutors haven't established its reliability.

Similar objections failed successful July, and Rotunno said she expects them to neglect again.

"They're relitigating galore issues that the justice has already ruled on, and they're going nowhere," she said.

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An approximation of the suspected movements of Tyler Robinson, Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin, based connected tribunal documents, video from the country and conversations with instrumentality enforcement. (Google Maps, Fox News Digital)

The defence is besides asking Graf to onslaught 2 lesser charges — witnesser tampering and committing a convulsive discourtesy successful the beingness of a kid — arguing that Robinson was advising his roommate Lance Twiggs to workout his law rights and that prosecutors failed to amusement Robinson knew children were contiguous astatine the clip of the shooting.

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And they reason that the enhancement that Kirk was targeted for his governmental look should besides beryllium dropped, disputing an alleged substance from Robinson to Twiggs stating, "I had capable of his hatred."

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"It is the State that argues that due to the fact that Mr. Robinson and Mr. Twiggs are 2 men who emotion each different and/or, it speculates, due to the fact that Mr. Twiggs (and not Mr. Robinson) was astatine slightest intermittently identifying arsenic a pistillate to his adjacent friends, it is Mr. Kirk’s views connected these topics which are the 'hatred' Mr. Robinson was referring to," the defence wrote. "These circumstances are not capable to establish, adjacent by probable origin which if immoderate governmental look of Mr. Kirk motivated Mr. Robinson to prime Mr. Kirk for an enactment of violence."

Robinson has not yet entered a plea.