An attorney for a 22-year-old man charged in the United States with killing right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has asked a judge for more time to review the large amount of evidence in the case before deciding if the defence would seek a preliminary hearing.
“It’s my understanding there is going to be massive amounts of digital [evidence] that is going to be coming,” Kathryn Nester, a lawyer for Tyler Robinson, told the court on Monday.
A preliminary hearing would determine if there is enough evidence against Robinson to go forward with a trial. Prosecutors in the US state of Utah have charged Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty.
The hearing took place in Provo, just a few miles from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where many students are still processing trauma from the September 10 shooting and the day-and-a-half search for the suspect.
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 incriminating text messages and DNA evidence that they said connect Robinson to the killing.
A note that Robinson left for his romantic partner 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,” Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told reporters before the first hearing. Gray also said Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: “I had enough of his hatred.”
The assassination of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters towards conservatism, has galvanised many Republicans who have promised to carry on Kirk’s mission of moving American politics further right.
Trump has declared Kirk a “martyr” for freedom and threatened to crack down on what he called the “radical left”.
Workers across the US 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, whose late-night show was suspended then reinstated by the ABC network.
Kirk’s political organisation, 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 planned to attend, including Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Senator Mike Lee at Utah State University on Tuesday.
At Monday’s hearing, Judge Tony Graf briefly acknowledged that the case is likely to draw widespread attention and took pains to stress that “Mr Robinson’s constitutional rights will be protected at every stage” as well as those of the victims.
“We must fulfil our roles with integrity, civility and diligence,” he told both sides. “I encourage each of you to give your very best to this case. Neither Mr Robinson or the people of Utah deserve anything less than the fair and impartial administration of justice.”
Graf set the next hearing for October 30.
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