A Utah judge has ordered cuts to a recorded interview with the roommate of Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer, ruling Wednesday that certain portions cannot be played in open court after the defense argued the clips could be presented as “confessions” and undermine the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
District Court Judge Tony Graf agreed to trim sections of the video that could be shown to the court, though he indicated he would still consider the full recording when deciding whether prosecutors have enough evidence to send Tyler Robinson, 23, to trial. Robinson faces seven criminal charges, including aggravated murder, and prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.
Investigators say Robinson shot Kirk, 31, in front of thousands of onlookers as the well-known ally of President Donald Trump was engaged in a debate with students at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
The ruling concerned an interview with Lance Twiggs, Kirk’s roommate, and was issued on the third day of a key preliminary hearing in Provo, Utah. Twiggs has not been charged in connection with the case. Prosecutor Lauren Hunt told the court that on April 20, Twiggs agreed to sit for an interview with prosecutors and law enforcement rather than testify at this week’s hearing.
Robinson’s defense attorney Richard Novak pushed unsuccessfully for the video to be shown only in a closed session, arguing that public viewing could taint the jury pool and infringe on his client’s rights. “We are very concerned that the publication of what the state will call confessions at trial violates Mr Robinson’s due process rights,” Novak told the court.
Erika Kirk, the victim’s widow, was present in the courtroom for the third consecutive day. Her attorney argued the footage should be played in its entirety. “To not be transparent here, to not be open, to not let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system,” attorney Jeffrey Neiman stated.
Prosecutor Hunt said her team would make the judge’s requested edits to the video and intended to play the trimmed version in court on Thursday.
Judge Graf signaled that a ruling on whether the case will proceed to trial is unlikely to come this week. “After this hearing I’ll review everything again,” he said.
The preliminary hearing, expected to run the full week, marks the first public examination of prosecution evidence in Kirk’s killing — one of a string of incidents that have heightened concern about political violence in the United States.
Robinson, who was enrolled in an electrician training program at the time of the shooting, has not yet entered a plea. His legal team has suggested this week that investigators may have overlooked evidence pointing to another person’s involvement in the killing.
Prosecutors have indicated they plan to introduce text messages exchanged between Robinson and Twiggs, as well as messages from a Discord group chat, as evidence. Some of this material has already surfaced in court documents. According to those filings, Twiggs texted Robinson after the shooting asking if he had shot Kirk, and Robinson allegedly replied that he had. When asked why, Robinson reportedly responded: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Prosecutors argue the messages and other evidence show Robinson targeted Kirk because of his conservative political beliefs. The defense contests that characterization and has worked to limit the introduction of a political motive, which could factor into arguments for imposing the death penalty.
