Judge sets summer 2028 trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk
[November 10, 2026]
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The man accused of assassinating conservative
activist Charlie Kirk will stand trial in the summer of 2028, a Utah
judge ruled Monday.
Attorneys for defendant Tyler Robinson, 23, proposed a trial starting in
2029. But District Judge Tony Graf faced pressure from Kirk's family and
supporters, including President Donald Trump, to speed up court
proceedings that already have lasted more than a year.
Robinson has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in the killing of
Kirk, 31, as the activist spoke to several thousand people at Utah
Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Robinson could face the death
penalty if convicted.
Graf allocated 105 days for the trial, beginning with jury selection on
June 21, 2028. He said the dates balance Robinson’s right to prepare his
defense with the rights of Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, to a speedy
resolution.
Erika Kirk's attorney disagreed with the schedule but said there is no
choice but to accept it.
“A trial in the summer of 2028, three years after Charlie’s
assassination, does not feel very speedy to the Kirk family,” attorney
Jeffrey Neiman told the judge. He had argued the trial should start next
October.
In a statement after Monday's hearing, the Kirk family characterized
Graf’s decision as a “delay” and said, “every additional day without
justice prolongs our family’s pain.”
Robinson’s defense team declined to comment after the hearing.
The defendant turned himself in a day after the shooting. His lawyers
have not offered alternative theories for Kirk’s death.
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Prosecutors had said they could be ready for trial by October 2027.
Rather than hold the proceedings during the Thanksgiving and
Christmas holidays, they proposed a January 2028 start date.
Kirk helped galvanize young voters around Trump during the 2024
election. Trump weighed in on the trial in a social media post last
month, saying Robinson should be tried “within a month.” The
Republican president criticized Graf, a former prosecutor appointed
judge last year, for “taking forever to ask questions that people
already know the answer to.”
Utah County prosecutors allege Robinson targeted Kirk for his
political beliefs. They say a bullet found in the rifle used to kill
Kirk was engraved with the words “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.”
Robinson’s attorneys said in court documents that they must sift
through tens of thousands of files turned over by prosecutors. They
plan to conduct extensive investigations into Robinson’s life in
search of mitigating factors that could influence his sentence if
convicted.
Defense attorneys have said they will conduct surveys to see if it's
possible to seat an impartial jury in Utah County. Depending on the
results, they may ask to hold the trial elsewhere. The judge said he
will hear arguments about the venue next December.
___
Associated Press journalist Matthew Brown contributed from Billings,
Montana.
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