Charlie Kirk murder trial set for June 2028, suspect faces death penalty

Tyler Robinson, 23, is scheduled to face a potential death penalty for allegedly killing Charlie Kirk with a gunshot to the neck on a university campus in the western US state of Utah on September 10, 2025. The judge announced Monday that jury selection will begin June 21, 2028, with 105 days reserved for the trial. Robinson, who has pled not guilty, was arrested following a 33-hour manhunt after Kirk's assassination last year sent shockwaves through the US political world. Kirk had become a prominent leader in a Christian Nationalist movement that advocates traditional values while expressing intolerance toward diversity and LGBTQ communities. Turning Point, Kirk's youth organization, played a key role in mobilizing young voters to support Donald Trump's re-election campaign in 2024. The group is now led by Trump's wife, Erika Kirk. The prosecution initially sought a trial as early as January 2028, while Robinson's defense lawyers requested until the end of 2029 to prepare their case. Last month, Trump criticized the judge, saying the case should be tried within a month rather than three years. In court filings, the prosecution presented text messages in which Robinson confessed to planning the murder to his roommate, a transgender person with whom he allegedly had a relationship. The defense has focused on alleged weaknesses in the DNA and ballistic evidence. The case has drawn significant attention due to Kirk's influence on American politics and the involvement of Turning Point in Trump's 2024 re-election campaign.