MICHAEL RUIZ: Tyler Robinson judge to give long-awaited trial date ruling in assassination of Charlie Kirk
Tyler Robinson's trial date ruling comes Monday as prosecutors and defense clash over timelines in the Charlie Kirk assassination case.
PROVO, Utah — The judge overseeing the case against accused assassin Tyler Robinson will announce his ruling Monday after prosecutors and defense attorneys sought dramatically different start times for the trial of a man accused of gunning down Charlie Kirk last year.
Robinson, 22, is accused of assassinating the 31-year-old Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem by shooting him with a .30-06 hunting rifle from a rooftop on the other side of the campus courtyard.
The sides are years apart on when they want the trial to begin.
Utah County prosecutors have asked in court documents and oral arguments for Jan. 31, 2028, as their preferred trial date but said they could be ready in October 2027. Robinson's defense team has proposed late 2029 as a "soft target" trial date.
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Staci Visser, one of Robinson's defense lawyers, said at a hearing in October that the state's timeline is "not practical" due to large amounts of discovery.
"Discovery review is foundational," she said. "It impacts everything else."
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The court is also attempting to work with both sides to avoid setting a date that conflicts with previously scheduled trials they have in other cases.
One directly conflicted with the prosecution's desired start date, a federal racketeering case defense attorney Richard Novak has scheduled for Jan. 10, 2028.
"The reality is rushing to trial does not lead to closure. It does not lead to finality. It leads to mistakes," he said at a hearing on Oct. 23.
Both sides agreed that setting a trial earlier, which would be interrupted for a break during the holidays, could put potential jurors and witnesses in a bind.
The case's pace has even attracted criticism from President Donald Trump, who wrote on the Truth Social platform that the judge was doing "a terrible job" moving things along.
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"This case should be tried within a month, not three years — and it should be over with," Trump wrote. "The judge is desecrating the memory of the Great Charlie Kirk, while taking forever to ask questions that people already know the answer to. The whole Country is mocking him and our 'Legal' System. JUSTICE FOR CHARLIE!"
Robinson's lawyers used the president's post to argue that news cameras should be kicked out of the courtroom. Judge Tony Graf Jr. denied the request, as he has done several times previously.
"He's very slow — he's very deliberate on making decisions," Donna Rotunno, a criminal defense attorney and Fox News contributor, told "Fox & Friends" Monday. "I do hope he sets a trial date. The only reason he wouldn't is if he says there are too many motions that are still outstanding and we need to get through those first."
Rotunno expects the judge's ultimate decision to come back sometime between the two sides' requests.
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"Justice delayed this long stops being justice for the Kirk family," Jeffrey Neiman, an attorney for Kirk's widow, Erika, told the court at the Oct. 23 hearing.
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Robinson did not enter a plea until last month, nearly a year after being charged.
"Your honor, if you set [a trial date], it will happen," Neiman said. "Set it, please."
The hearing kicks off at 3 p.m. ET.
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