Utah judge schedules 2028 trial for man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk

Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is scheduled to stand trial in the summer of 2028, Utah District Court Judge Tony Graf ruled Monday afternoon. Jury selection will begin June 21, 2028, Graf said. Robinson, 23, pleaded not guilty last year to aggravated murder and six related offenses in last year’s killing while Kirk spoke to a crowd of several thousand people at Utah Valley University. At the urging of his family, Robinson turned himself in a day after the shooting. He could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.The court will hold monthly pre-trial status conferences to ensure constitutional rights for both Robinson and Kirk’s wife Erika.The timeline is intended “to ensure that the constitutional rights of Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Kirk are upheld at every junction, each party is treated with the dignity and respect they are due, as they are human beings, and that the Sixth Amendment right is protected,” Graf wrote in his order. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a speedy trial.“Given Mr. Robinson’s current status, unnecessary delay remains a serious concern,” Graf said, adding that he will reserve 105 court days for trial.In explaining the court’s timeline, Graf said both sides must have sufficient time to review tens of thousands of files of evidence, which includes some eight million digital artifacts and about 3.3 terabytes of data. Similarly, Graf said jury and setting selection must proceed at a pace that allows for thorough vetting.Utah County prosecutors said they expected a 17-week trial and said they would be ready by October 2027, The Associated Press Reported. But rather than hold the proceedings during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, they proposed the trial begin Jan. 31, 2028.But Robinson’s defense attorneys asked for a 2029 trial to give them time to prepare their case, which includes sifting through tens of thousands of files turned over by prosecutors.Attorneys for Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, pushed back against the defense’s proposed schedule, calling it “absurd” and suggesting that Robinson’s legal team was simply trying to delay.At the end of the hearing Monday, attorney Jeffrey Neiman said the family would accept the trial date but implored the court to hold to the schedule and avoid any further delays. “Look, the Kirk family obviously has the right to speedy disposition of this case. A trial in the summer of 2028, three years after Charlie’s assassination, does not feel very speedy to the Kirk family.”“The family has waited long enough already,” Neiman added.” “They should not have to wait any longer for this.”