A video interview featuring the roommate of Tyler Robinson, the man charged with killing Charlie Kirk, is scheduled to be shown in a Utah courtroom on Thursday as part of an ongoing preliminary hearing into the September 2025 assassination.
Robinson’s legal team attempted Wednesday to block prosecutors from playing the recorded interview with Lance Twiggs, in which prosecutors say Twiggs describes Robinson allegedly telling him he was responsible for Kirk’s death. That effort failed.
The footage will be presented on the fourth day of the preliminary hearing, where the prosecution is attempting to persuade Utah District Court Judge Tony Graf that there is enough evidence against Robinson to move forward with a trial.
The week-long proceeding marks the first time prosecution evidence in Kirk’s assassination has been tested in a public forum. The killing is among a string of attacks that have heightened alarm about political violence in the United States.
Investigators allege Robinson shot Kirk, who was 31 years old, in front of thousands of onlookers while the prominent ally of President Donald Trump was engaged in a debate with students at Utah Valley University.
An attorney representing Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, called Wednesday for the complete video to be shown, saying it should be played in full “to let the world see what happened.”
Judge Graf ruled that certain portions of the interview could not be played after Robinson’s attorney argued that prosecutors would present the clips as “confessions” and undermine the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Prosecutors agreed to make the edits requested by Graf and proceed with showing the video.
Prosecutor Lauren Hunt said Wednesday that Twiggs agreed to record the April 20 interview with prosecutors and law enforcement instead of appearing as a witness at the preliminary hearing, and was granted immunity for anything he said during that interview.
Robinson, who was training to become an electrician at the time of the shooting, has not yet entered a plea. During this week’s proceedings, his attorneys have suggested that investigators may have overlooked evidence pointing to another person’s involvement in the killing.
Prosecutors have indicated they intend to introduce text messages exchanged between Robinson and Twiggs, as well as messages from a Discord group chat. While some of that material has already appeared in court documents, Robinson’s defense team has argued that broadcasting it poses a serious threat to his constitutional rights.
According to text messages cited by prosecutors, Twiggs asked Robinson after the shooting whether he had shot Kirk, and Robinson said he had. When asked why, Robinson allegedly replied: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Prosecutors argue the messages show Robinson targeted Kirk because of his conservative political beliefs. The defense disputes that interpretation and has moved to limit the use of any evidence suggesting a political motive — a factor that could potentially be used to argue for the death penalty.
