Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin makes brief court appearance
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Tyler Robinson (pictured), accused of killing activist Charlie Kirk, has been jailed without bond on charges of aggravated murder and several other criminal offences.
PHOTO: AFP
PROVO, Utah – The Utah trade school student charged over murdering right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk made a brief court appearance on Sept 29, where his new legal defence team confirmed it will seek a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed to a trial.
Tyler Robinson, 22, is accused of firing the single rifle shot from a rooftop sniper’s perch that took Mr Kirk’s life on Sept 10 while Mr Kirk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, was addressing a crowd on a university campus in Orem, Utah.
Robinson, arrested after a 33-hour manhunt, has been jailed without bond on charges of aggravated murder and several other criminal offences, and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
Robinson’s court-appointed lawyer Kathryn Nester told Utah Fourth District Judge Tony Graf in Provo that she did not intend to waive a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors must demonstrate to a judge that there is sufficient evidence to support the charges.
Ms Nester said the defence will need time to examine the evidence, which prosecutors called “voluminous”, and suggested it may be months before the hearing can take place.
Defence attorney Kathryn Nester (centre) who is representing Tyler Robinson, speaking during a hearing in Utah County Court in the US, on Sept 29.
Robinson participated virtually from the Utah County jail. Unlike his first court appearance on Sept 16, when he appeared via video feed from jail, Robinson was not visible on camera on Sept 29.
Under Utah state law, defendants do not enter a plea until after the preliminary hearing.
Judge Graf set another status conference for Oct 30, and Ms Nester indicated Robinson would be in court in person for that session.
Mr Kirk’s assassination, captured in graphic video clips that went viral on the internet, unleashed a wave of partisan finger-pointing and deepened fears about rising political violence in the United States.
Fallout has included a national furor over comments about the killing by late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel, whose show was suspended for nearly a week under pressure from the head of the US Federal Communications Commission.
Mr Trump signed a directive on Sept 25 seeking to crack down on what he characterised as organised efforts by left-wing groups to commit or incite political violence, though no evidence has emerged connecting Robinson with any outside group.
In their charging documents, prosecutors included electronic writings in which Robinson was alleged to have privately confessed to the murder in an exchange of texts with his live-in romantic partner. In it, Robinson allegedly said of Mr Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred.” REUTERS
