Accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson has lost a bid to postpone his case until 2029, as a Utah judge set the capital murder trial for the summer of 2028.
Jury selection for the highly-anticipated case against Robinson — who’s accused of killing the 31-year-old conservative activist in front of a crowd of thousands — is set to begin on June 21, 2028, Judge Tony Graf decided on Monday.
Graf set aside 105 trial days — or roughly five months — for the case that will not only require a jury to decide Robinson’s guilt but also whether he should be sentenced to death, if found guilty.
Tyler Robinson, accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, has been given a trial date. Getty Images
Tyler Robinson, seen in video feed from his arraignment from Utah County Jail on Sept. 16, 2025, lost a bid to postpone his trial until 2029. AP
Robinson’s team asked the judge to hold off the high-profile trial until the summer of 2029 on the grounds the lawyers needed the extra time to wade through an overwhelming amount of evidence.
But prosecutors said they could be ready for trial on Oct. 4, 2027, a date which Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, pushed for. However, the state’s attorneys said they preferred for the trial to begin in January 2028 to avoid needing to break for the holidays during the trial anticipated to last for 17 weeks.
Graf said he considered the Kirk family’s request for an earlier trial date against Robinson’s right to sufficient time to prepare for the lengthy and serious trial — essentially arriving at a date in between the ones proposed by both sides.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot as he was speaking in front of a crowd of thousands in September 2025. Getty Images
Well-wishers leave flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 11, 2025. David Buchan/New York Post
“Here the schedule must give counsel time to review missing records, consult experts and assess meaningful leads before making those choices for capital mitigation,” the judge said at a hearing Monday.
“Given Mr. Robinson’s current status, unnecessary delay remains a serious concern,” the judge said, apparently referring to the fact that Robinson is in jail pending trial.
Kirk’s family wasn’t happy with Graf’s trial date.
“Today’s decision to delay the trial of the man accused of murdering our beloved Charlie until at least June 2028, is deeply disappointing,” the slain activist’s family said in a statement.
“While nothing will restore the time we have lost with Charlie, every additional day without justice prolongs our family’s pain and forces us to wait even longer for accountability.”
Meanwhile, Erika’s lawyers had said “each hearing induces anxiety, pain and mourning,” for the widow and the two young children she had with Charlie.
Robinson’s case is being handled in a court in Provo, Utah. Getty Images
A letter from Tyler Robinson to Lance Twiggs is shown during Robinson’s hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, on July 9, 2026. AP
“The Kirk family deserves to have this matter resolved expeditiously,” Kirk family lawyer, Jeffrey Neiman, has argued in court papers.
Kirk’s side also noted if the case dragged on for years, taxpayers would have to continue to foot the bill for Robinson’s pricey death penalty lawyers, who have already billed $1.6 million, Neiman said.
“Charlie’s death should not lead to the lawyers defending his assassin becoming millionaires,” Neiman blasted.
Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf set the trial date. Getty Images
Robinson, 23, is charged with first-degree murder and related charges for allegedly perching on a rooftop, firing a gun over a crowd of 4,000 people, including kids, as the Turning Point USA founder was speaking at Utah Valley University, according to prosecutors.
Robinson then allegedly bragged in a text message about the killing to his trans partner Lance Twiggs before he was arrested roughly a day later, prosecutors claimed.
He was motivated to take out Kirk for espousing beliefs supporting traditional relationships that were “repugnant” to Robinson’s LGBTQ+ lifestyle, prosecutor Ryan McBride said at a hearing last month.
Robinson’s lawyers have claimed the prosecution’s video and DNA evidence are unreliable and claimed any animosity Robinson had against Kirk was unrelated to his love life.
Robinson has pleaded not guilty.
He could face death by a firing squad if he’s convicted at trial.