US prosecutors charged with murder of Charlie Kirk | Court Affairs

A judge to decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Tyler Robinson to trial for involuntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors in the US state of Utah have begun testifying in the trial against the alleged killer of a police officer. Charlie Kirk.

After the first hearing, which began on Monday and is expected to continue for five days, prosecutors will seek to convince a federal judge that they have enough evidence to bring suspected shooter Tyler Robinson to trial for killing Kirk last September.

Although it was the first case, the trial had the trappings of a full trial, with defendant Robinson, Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erica Kirk, and his parents in court. Also in the court were Donald Trump Jr, the son of US President Donald Trump, and human rights activist Jack Posobiec.

Robinson has not entered a plea and his attorneys have not entered a plea of ​​guilty or innocent. The defense, however, wants to remove the possibility of the death penalty for Robinson, but so far has been unsuccessful. Trump has called for Robinson to receive the death penalty.

In order for a full trial to proceed, prosecutors must convince a judge that there is reasonable cause to believe that Robinson killed Kirk. To be acquitted, he will have to prove to the court that Robinson is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

Robinson sat among his lawyers on the first day of the trial, occasionally taking notes, with his hands shackled around his waist.

The prosecution initially called Utah Valley University police officer Chris Bagley as a witness. He also described Kirk speaking to a large crowd at the school when he was shot.

He also described going to the top of a nearby building, where he saw dents in the rocks that he described as “sniper pads”.

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester questioned Bagley about finding an empty gun on the ground after the men fled. Bagley admitted that he had never touched the holster and did not know if it had fingerprints on it.

Prosecutors were also expected to present what they called a penitential note written by Robinson, text messages in which he allegedly confessed to the crime, and video evidence from Robinson’s roommate and best friend.

Robinson’s attorneys are expected to focus on invalid ballistics testing, which could not link the bullet fragment removed from Kirk’s body to the weapon he allegedly killed.

Kirk co-founded the student advocacy organization Turning Point USA, and was known to help young people vote for Trump.

The US president blamed Kirk’s killing for “left-wing ideology” and vowed to crack down on liberals in response.