Politics

Suspect in Charlie Kirk assassination appears in court remotely

Suspect in Charlie Kirk assassination appears in court remotely

The 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk appeared in court remotely on Monday. During the hearing, the suspect and his newly appointed legal counsel decided they want a preliminary hearing where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence against him to go forward with a trial.Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty. Robinson didn’t enter a plea during Monday’s hearing. The Utah state court system gives people accused of crimes an option to waive their legal right to a preliminary hearing and instead schedule an arraignment where they can enter a plea. Kathryn Nester, the lead attorney appointed to represent Robinson, said that the defense team would need time to go through all of the evidence in the case before letting the judge know when they would be ready for the hearing.”Until we can kinda get our heads around exactly what we’re dealing with and how much we need to process, it’s going to be difficult for us to give you a reasonable expectation of when we will be ready to do the prelim,” Nester told Judge Tony Graf Jr.Robinson is scheduled to appear in person for his next hearing on Oct. 30. The hearing in Provo was open to the public, just a few miles from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where the Sept. 10 shooting happened, launching a day-and-a-half search for the suspect.Graf told prosecutors and the defense lawyers that Robinson’s constitutional rights would be protected as the case moves forward.”He sits before this court presumed innocent, and that presumption remains unless and until each element of every offense charged against him is proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” the judge said. “At the same time and as applicable, victims are entitled under our Constitution to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, free from harassment or abuse. Justice demands that both of these principles — the rights of the accused and the rights of victims — be honored without compromise.”Authorities arrested Robinson when he showed up with his parents at his hometown sheriff’s office in southwest Utah, more than a three-hour drive from the site of the shooting, to turn himself in. Prosecutors have since revealed text messages and DNA evidence that they say connect Robinson to the killing.Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told reporters before the first hearing that Robinson’s mother had said her son had begun to date his roommate, who was transitioning from male to female.A note that Robinson had allegedly left for his roommate before the shooting said he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices, “and I’m going to take it,” Gray said. Gray also said that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his roommate: “I had enough of his hatred.”According to court documents, Robinson allegedly wrote in a text, “To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age.”When the roommate asked Robinson if he was Kirk’s shooter, Robinson allegedly replied, “I am, I’m sorry.”The assassination of Kirk, a close ally of President Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism, has galvanized Republicans who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of moving American politics further to the right.Mr. Trump has declared Kirk a “martyr” for freedom and threatened to crack down on what he called the “radical left.”Workers across the country have been punished or fired for speaking out about Kirk after his death, including teachers, public and private employees and media personalities — most notably Jimmy Kimmel, who had his late-night show suspended then quickly reinstated by ABC.Kirk’s political organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, brought young, evangelical Christians into politics through his podcast, social media and campus events. Many prominent Republicans are filling in at the upcoming campus events Kirk was meant to attend, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Sen. Mike Lee at Utah State University on Tuesday.