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By Joshua Rhett Miller
Senior Reporter
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Jury selection in the trial for the gunman accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year during a rally at a college in Utah will begin in June 2028, a judge ruled Monday.
Utah District Court Judge Tony Graf scheduled jury selection in the trial for Tyler James Robinson, 23, to start on June 21, 2028, amid mounting public and legal pressure from Kirk's relatives and President Donald Trump. The accused gunman, who remains held without bail, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and related charges in the activist's slaying at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
Prosecutors previously proposed Robinson's anticipated 17-week trial to begin as late as January 31, 2028, while defense attorneys had requested a start in the third quarter of 2029 — citing extensive preparation needed for a complex death penalty case. Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, 37, has urged Graf to set a trial date as soon as next October.
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"Under the defendants' proposed schedule, Mr. Kirk's two children, who were one and three at the time he was murdered, will be six and eight years old by the time the trial concludes," Erika Kirk's attorney, Jeffrey Neiman, previously wrote in a court filing. "They will face the uncertainty of this criminal proceeding longer than they had their father in their lives."
Graf ruled in early September that Robinson would stand trial in Kirk's slaying after determining prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to establish probable cause. The judge also ruled that prosecutors can continue seeking the death penalty against Robinson, who allegedly confessed to killing Kirk in a text message to his roommate romantic partner.
"Every step in this process carries the weight of all that Charlie’s murder has taken from his family, especially his children who will grow up without their father," Kirk's family said in a statement on September 1. "We are grateful to all who have continued to pray for us, support us, and stand with us through a year of unimaginable grief. As the next phase of the judicial process begins, our family remains united in our love for Charlie, our commitment to the pursuit of justice, and our prayer for a transparent and timely process."
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Prosecutors detailed Robinson's alleged movements ahead of Kirk's murder during a rally at Utah Valley University in charging documents, surveillance footage and testimony during a five-day preliminary hearing in July.
Kirk, 31, had been answering a question about gun violence when he was shot in the neck by a marksman with a bolt-action rifle from a rooftop perch roughly 415 feet away on September 10, 2025, an investigator testified. Robinson, then 22, surrendered to authorities in Utah a day later after his parents recognized photographs released by the FBI that sparked an intense manhunt.
Authorities found a rifle wrapped in a towel in the woods near the shooting scene, as well as a shell casing and three unfired bullets that had been engraved. Utah Governor Spencer Cox later announced that some of the etched anti-fascist messages included phrases such as "Catch!"
Attorneys for Robinson have not offered alternate suspects in Kirk's killing, but repeatedly questioned the reliability of DNA tests and other evidence cited by prosecutors throughout a weeklong preliminary in July.
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Timeline of Tyler Robinson Movements Around Charlie Kirk Shooting
President Trump, who spoke at Kirk's memorial service, publicly criticized Graf late last month, accused the judge of mishandling the case while insisting Robinson's trial should start within 30 days.
"The judge is desecrating the memory of the Great Charlie Kirk, while taking forever to ask questions that people already know the answer to," Trump wrote on Truth Social on October 23. "The whole Country is mocking him and our 'Legal' System. JUSTICE FOR CHARLIE!"
Erika Kirk, meanwhile, condemned commentators, comedians and podcasters on Sunday following viral remarks by comedian Dave Chappelle about her husband's murder 14 months earlier.
"To see leftist podcasters, comedians, and commentators laugh about political assassination as though it’s entertainment and the destruction of a human life is a punchline, is beyond disgusting," she wrote on X.
Kirk's statement did not identify Chappelle, but followed leaks from the comedian's weekend performances at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he said he felt "better" about Charlie Kirk's slaying.
"And I mean look, ever since that guy Charlie Kirk got murdered … and I shouldn’t say this publicly, but I feel better," Chappelle said in a clip that circulated on social media on Saturday.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas
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