Judge Tony Graf’s newly published written order explains why Tyler Robinson will stand trial on all seven charges in the killing of Charlie Kirk and why prosecutors can continue pursuing the death penalty. The key issue on the capital aggravated-murder count was whether the evidence established probable cause that Robinson knowingly created a “great risk of death” to someone other than Kirk. Graf said the fact that the shooting occurred in a crowded setting was not enough by itself. Instead, he relied on the documented positions of people surrounding Kirk, including the questioner standing in front of him and security personnel near the canopy, along with evidence that the shot allegedly came from an elevated rooftop roughly 415 feet away and 68 feet above the stage. Graf concluded that those circumstances supported a reasonable inference that at least one other person was within the zone of danger when the shot was fired.
Graf also found sufficient evidence at the preliminary-hearing stage to infer that Robinson would have been aware of those people when he allegedly fired. The judge pointed to evidence that Robinson had been at the location beforehand, that there was a clear line of sight from the southwest roof area to Kirk’s canopy and that the rifle allegedly used contained an optic. Graf stopped short of making findings about exactly what Robinson could see through the scope or calculating the probability that a bullet could have ricocheted, overpenetrated or deviated from its intended path. Instead, he ruled that the totality of the evidence was enough to satisfy the relatively low probable-cause threshold and bind Robinson over for trial. Robinson has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts, and the aggravated-murder charge remains the count carrying potential capital punishment as the case now moves into its full pretrial phase.
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