A Utah judge appeared to react sharply in court while watching footage from the moment Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed last September.
State District Judge Tony Graf, who is overseeing the case against Tyler Robinson, made clear before the video was shown that the footage would not be displayed to the courtroom or made available online. Instead, it would be viewed only by the court and the parties involved in the case.
“The Court is not publishing this in the courtroom, nor is it being published, obviously, online,” Graf said. “But the Court will watch it in court and to the parties, if you could protect your screens however you choose to, and then I’ll check to see when we’re ready, and then we’ll have it played.”
As the video played, Graf appeared to flinch at the moment Kirk was struck.
Brandon Tatum, a former Tucson, Arizona, SWAT officer and a friend of Kirk’s, shared video of the judge’s reaction on social media.
“This may have been the most difficult moment of today’s hearing,” Tatum wrote. “The judge visibly flinched as footage of Charlie Kirk being shot was shown in court.”
“You could feel the weight of the room. Praying for Erika and Charlie’s family,” he added.
NewsNation reporter Brian Entin also described the atmosphere inside the courtroom. He wrote that Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, was crying before the hearing began. Donald Trump Jr. was seated in the front row with his wife. Entin also said Robinson was seen laughing with his attorney before the hearing started, and that Erika Kirk left the courtroom during the description of the shooting.
Robert Draper of The New York Times reported that Erika Kirk and her supporters stood and left as law enforcement officials began testifying about the details of the fatal shooting. Draper said the testimony described Kirk being struck by a bullet and slumping over. Erika Kirk later returned after a break.
Draper also noted that when a former campus police officer described the chaos immediately after the shooting, Robinson appeared to lean forward slightly, with a more focused expression. At that point, Erika Kirk and her in-laws left the courtroom.
Utah Valley University campus officer Chris Bagley testified about what he heard and saw during and immediately after the Sept. 10, 2025, shooting. His testimony included discussion of what investigators believe may have been the rooftop location used by the shooter.
David Hull, a former Utah State Bureau of Investigation agent, also testified. He said surveillance footage showed Robinson on campus several times on Sept. 10 and into the early morning hours of Sept. 11.
According to Hull, the video showed Robinson driving a vehicle registered to him into a campus parking garage and getting out. Hull testified that he believed the person seen in the garage was Robinson. The garage was described as a short walk from the area where Kirk was shot shortly after noon.
Hull also testified that Robinson appeared later in campus surveillance footage wearing different clothing, including long pants instead of shorts, and walking with a limp. Investigators suggested that detail could indicate he was concealing part of a firearm under his pants.
Other footage, Hull said, showed Robinson in a stairwell that provided access to the roof from which authorities believe the shot was fired. Video also showed a person lying prone on that rooftop shortly afterward. Hull testified that he believed that person was Robinson.
Monday’s hearing was held to determine whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Prosecutors are also seeking to continue pursuing the death penalty under an aggravated murder charge.
After the Sept. 10 assassination, Robinson reportedly texted his roommate, Lance Twiggs, with whom he was said to have been in a romantic relationship, that he shot Kirk because he had “enough of his hatred” and that “some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
At this stage, the evidence presented in court appears to be substantial, though the case has not yet gone to trial.