Defense attorneys for the Utah man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk said they need several years to prepare their case and suggested a 2029 trial date.
An attorney for Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, called the proposal “absurd” and accused defendant Tyler Robinson of trying to delay.
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Utah District Court Judge Tony Graf had been expected to set the trial date during a Friday hearing. However, no date was set and Graf scheduled the next hearing for Nov. 9.
Robinson has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in last year’s killing of Kirk as the 31-year-old activist spoke to several thousand people at Utah Valley University. The defendant turned himself in a day after the shooting, and his lawyers have not offered alternative theories for Kirk’s death.
He could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Kirk helped galvanize youth voters around President Donald Trump during the 2024 election. Trump weighed in on the case in a social media post prior to Friday's hearing. He said it should be tried “within a month.” Trump criticized Graf — a former prosecutor appointed as a judge last year — for “taking forever to ask questions that people already know the answer to.”
Utah County prosecutors allege the 23-year-old defendant targeted Kirk for his political beliefs. They say a bullet found in the rifle used to kill Kirk was engraved with “Hey Facist! CATCH!” and that Robinson wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Prosecutors said they anticipate a 17-week trial and would be ready by October 2027. But rather than hold the proceedings during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, they proposed the trial begin in January 2028.
Erika Kirk’s attorney said the trial should start next October. Dragging it out for years would violate her speedy trial rights under Utah law as a victim, said attorney Jeffrey Neiman.
“Under the Defendants’ proposed schedule, Mr. Kirk’s two children, who were one and three at the time he was murdered, will be six and eight years old by the time the trial concludes,” Neiman wrote in a court filing. “They will face the uncertainty of this criminal proceeding longer than they had their father in their lives.”
Robinson's attorneys said in court filings this week that they must sift through tens of thousands of files turned over by prosecutors. They plan extensive investigations into Robinson’s life in a search for mitigating factors that could influence his sentence if convicted, and to devote “substantial time” to issues such as jury selection.
