Preliminary Hearing Ends in Assassination Case; Judge Orders Parts of Interview Redacted

A week-long preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, concluded Thursday. Video testimony from Lance Twiggs, Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, was played in court after Judge Tony Graf ordered roughly 16 minutes of the 37-minute interview redacted.

The judge acted after Robinson’s attorney raised concerns that broadcasting the full interview would amount to airing a confession before trial.

In the interview, Twiggs stated that Robinson said he wished he had not done it the day after Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University in September. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Robinson wrote a note stating he had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and separately texted Twiggs that he targeted Kirk because he had grown tired of his rhetoric.

Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea.

He turned himself in one day after the shooting. Prosecutors showed security footage identifying Robinson on the Utah Valley University campus four times on the day of the shooting. Conservative commentator Candace Owens has repeatedly questioned the case against Robinson in recent months, calling him a total patsy and claiming he was not on the campus the day Kirk was killed.

That claim was contradicted by the security footage presented this week.