PROVO, Utah — Prosecutors in Utah intend to play audio recordings in open court Thursday of law enforcement officials questioning the roommate of the man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Defense attorneys pushed back against releasing the statements made by Lance Twiggs, who was both the roommate and romantic partner of defendant Tyler Robinson. They argued that prosecutors would frame the statements as a confession, which could jeopardize Robinson’s right to a fair trial if the recordings were picked up by the media.
Robinson faces a charge of aggravated murder and has yet to enter a plea. He turned himself in to authorities one day after Kirk was shot and killed. Kirk was a close ally of President Donald Trump and was widely credited with helping energize young voters in support of Trump during the 2024 election.
According to prosecutors, Robinson left a note for Twiggs that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” Robinson also allegedly sent Twiggs a text message stating he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
Twiggs sat down with investigators on September 12 — two days after Kirk was shot and killed while addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University — and spoke with them again on April 20. In exchange for his cooperation, Twiggs was granted immunity, meaning his statements cannot be used against him in any potential criminal proceedings.
State District Judge Tony Graf will determine at the end of this week’s preliminary hearing whether prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence to move Robinson’s case forward to trial.
Robinson’s defense team has not addressed his guilt or innocence publicly but has made unsuccessful attempts to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment.
Attorneys representing Kirk’s family and members of the media urged the judge to allow Twiggs’ statements and other evidence to be made available to the public.
“To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system,” Kirk family attorney Jeffrey Neiman told Judge Graf.
According to investigators, Robinson climbed to a rooftop near the venue where Kirk was speaking and fired a single shot that struck Kirk in the neck while the activist was fielding questions from the large crowd gathered below. Kirk was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities recovered what they believe to be the murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent casing — wrapped inside a towel and hidden in a wooded area close to the shooting scene.
Earlier this week, Robinson’s defense attorneys raised questions about the reliability of DNA analysis used to connect their client to the towel and the firearm. Defense lawyer Michael Burt challenged the conclusions drawn by an FBI DNA analyst, arguing that “she can’t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples.”
However, forensics expert Lawrence Quarino countered that law enforcement agencies rely on “extremely reliable” methods to assess the likelihood that a person’s DNA matches evidence collected at a crime scene. Quarino, a professor and director of the forensic science program at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania, stated that DNA testing “is the gold standard in forensic science.”
