(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk will stand trial in the summer of 2028, a Utah judge ruled Monday.
Attorneys for defendant Tyler Robinson, 23, proposed a trial starting in 2029. But District Judge Tony Graf faced pressure from Kirk’s family and supporters, including President Donald Trump, to speed up court proceedings that already have lasted more than a year.
Robinson has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in the killing of Kirk, 31, as the activist spoke to several thousand people at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted.
Graf allocated 105 days for the trial, beginning with jury selection on June 21, 2028. He said the dates balance Robinson’s right to prepare his defense with the rights of Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, to a speedy resolution.
Erika Kirk’s attorney disagreed with the schedule but said there is no choice but to accept it.
“A trial in the summer of 2028, three years after Charlie’s assassination, does not feel very speedy to the Kirk family,” attorney Jeffrey Neiman told the judge. He had argued the trial should start next October.
In a statement after Monday’s hearing, the Kirk family characterized Graf’s decision as a “delay” and said, “every additional day without justice prolongs our family’s pain.”
Robinson’s defense team declined to comment after the hearing.
The defendant turned himself in a day after the shooting. His lawyers have not offered alternative theories for Kirk’s death.
Prosecutors had said they could be ready for trial by October 2027. Rather than hold the proceedings during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, they proposed a January 2028 start date.
Kirk helped galvanize young voters around Trump during the 2024 election. Trump weighed in on the trial in a social media post last month, saying Robinson should be tried “within a month.” The Republican president criticized Graf, a former prosecutor appointed judge last year, for “taking forever to ask questions that people already know the answer to.”
Utah County prosecutors allege Robinson targeted Kirk for his political beliefs. They say a bullet found in the rifle used to kill Kirk was engraved with the words “Hey Facist! CATCH!” and that Robinson wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Robinson’s attorneys said in court documents that they must sift through tens of thousands of files turned over by prosecutors. They plan to conduct extensive investigations into Robinson’s life in search of mitigating factors that could influence his sentence if convicted.
Defense attorneys have said they will conduct surveys to see if it’s possible to seat an impartial jury in Utah County. Depending on the results, they may ask to hold the trial elsewhere. The judge said he will hear arguments about the venue next December.
