PROVO, Utah (AP) — A key hearing kicks off Monday in Charlie Kirk's murder case in Utah, where prosecutors aim to convince a judge they have enough evidence to try his accused killer and seek the death penalty.
The five-day preliminary hearing will mark the most significant presentation of evidence in the case so far — and the first time that Kirk’s parents and widow will be in the courtroom with defendant Tyler Robinson.
Robinson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk, a conservative activist and ally of President Donald Trump, at Utah Valley University. Robinson turned himself in a day after the shooting.
Prosecutors allege he confessed in a note left for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
Robinson has not yet entered a plea, and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.
The proceeding will resemble a minitrial, but prosecutors need only demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk. The standard is lower than for a trial, where prosecutors have to prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Once it’s finished, state District Judge Tony Graf must determine if there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to a trial.
Prosecutors have said they plan to present DNA evidence linking Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, testimony from investigators, autopsy findings, witness statements and video of Kirk’s killing. They are also expected to argue the shooting endangered others at Kirk's campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law.
Prosecutors this week can use secondhand information, or hearsay, to help present their case.
Robinson's roommate is not expected to testify in person during the hearing. Still, the roommate's recorded testimony could be a focal point for prosecutors.
In addition to the alleged confession note, Robinson reportedly texted his roommate that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” prosecutors have said.
Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, galvanized the conservative youth vote to help Trump win a second term.
The Republican president has said he hopes Robinson receives the death penalty.
Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, said during his memorial service that she forgives Robinson. She is expected in court throughout the week with her husband’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
FILE - A well-wisher places flowers at a makeshift memorial set up for Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA headquarters, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched waves of missiles and drones targeting Kyiv early Monday that killed at least 11 people, authorities said, hours after Ukraine’s president warned that a large-scale attack was imminent.
Another 60 people were wounded, according to local officials, as emergency workers combed through rubble looking for survivors at residential high-rise buildings in two locations that suffered direct hits.
The new attack came days after a Russian strike killed 31 people in the capital on Thursday, the deadliest for the capital this year. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the bombardment was retaliation for Ukraine’s recent long-range strikes, which have caused severe fuel shortages and pressured President Vladimir Putin.
More than four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have given it an edge in recent months, analysts and Western officials say. Strikes on supply routes behind the front line have stripped the Russian army of momentum on the battlefield, they say, slowing its advance and driving up the cost.
But Russia is now exploiting a different kind of momentum: gaps in Ukraine’s air defenses, which remain heavily reliant on the U.S. Patriot systems to intercept ballistic missiles it can rarely shoot down any other way. The war in the Middle East has strained the global supply of Patriot interceptors, already produced in limited numbers — a shortage now most of all being felt in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at the country overnight, targeting mainly Kyiv and 29 ballistic missiles that were launched struck their targets, underscoring how little Ukraine can do to stop them.
“To intercept ballistics, we need the means for interception,” Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on national television, commenting on last night’s attack. “Russians are certainly using the fact that there is a serious deficit of interceptor missiles now, in Ukraine and the world.”
Ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that Ukrainian forces had performed well against drones and cruise missiles but not against Russian ballistic missiles — a shortfall he blamed on insufficient interceptor supplies. He urged U.S. and European partners to leave the summit with strong decisions to bolster Ukraine’s air defense and protect civilian lives.
“As long as Patriot missiles remain in our allies’ stockpiles, Russia is only encouraged to keep “vanquishing” residential buildings. The United States and Europe have enough strength to stop this terror,” he said in a statement following the attack.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the attack targeted weapons factories in Kyiv, including sites it said produce drones, sea drones, armored vehicles and missiles, as well as facilities that repair air defense systems and fuel and energy infrastructure in the city and surrounding region. The claims could not be independently verified.
Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukraine have repeatedly hit civilian areas. More than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war, according to the United Nations.
“These are residential buildings. Places where people slept and lived their ordinary lives,” said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, in a post on Telegram.
A residential building in the Podilskyi district partially collapsed, he said. In the Darnytsia district, several multistory buildings were damaged and people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.
Meanwhile, an energy provider in Russia-occupied Crimea reported a blackout across the peninsula due to “external impact.” The Moscow-appointed head of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said Ukrainian attacks cut power supplies to the city early Monday, but it was later restored using backup equipment.
Russia's Yaroslavl region Gov. Mikhail Yavrayev said two people were wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on the city of the same name. He said over 70 Ukrainian drones were downed as they attacked the city. Yavrayev didn’t say if any facilities were damaged, but Astra online news outlet said the attack targeted an oil refinery in the city, causing a fire.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 519 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A woman carries her cat out of a damaged multistory apartment building following a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Local residents walk amid debris following a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Local residents look out of the balcony at a building damaged by Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Emergency workers carry an injured person following Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
Rescuers work the scene of a building damaged by Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Rescuers work the scene of a building damaged by Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The damaged apartment interior in the ruined building following Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Rescuers work the scene of a building damaged by Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Rescuers work the scene of a building damaged by Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
