The Latest: Prosecutors argue the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk should stand trial

A weeklong preliminary hearing for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk is set to get underway on Monday. Prosecutors will aim to show that they have enough evidence against 23-year-old Tyler Robinson to proceed to a trial. The hearing marks the most significant presentation of evidence in the case so far. After the hearing concludes, state District Judge Tony Graf must determine if the case should proceed.

Robinson is charged with aggravated murder in the assassination of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus last September. Kirk’s parents and his widow, Erika Kirk, will attend the hearing, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. It is the first time Kirk’s family will be in the courtroom with the man accused of killing him.

Here's the latest:

The judge says people in the courtroom need to show proper decorum during the preliminary hearing.

Spectators aren’t allowed to display pins, clothing, photos or other visible demonstrations of support for anyone involved in the hearing. That includes things like shaking heads, Graf said.

Decorum rules like these are common during court proceedings.

Most witnesses will also be kept out of the hearing until it is time for them to testify, Graf said.

The hearing will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT each day, with two 15-minute breaks and a one-hour lunch break at noon. It is expected to last a week.

State District Judge Tony Graf is going over his rules for the hearing, including some limitations on the use of technology such as cellphones and laptops.

Graf says the court has the duty to protect and uphold the rights of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing the Turning Point USA founder, and those of Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.

Erika Kirk has arrived at the Utah courthouse for the preliminary hearing of the man accused of killing her husband, Charlie Kirk.

Three men escorted her into the building several minutes before the hearing was expected to begin.

Charlie Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, arrived separately.

Armed officers with binoculars are on the roof of the courthouse where Tyler Robinson faces a key hearing in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.

More officers are on the ground outside the courthouse. A drone was also flying overhead. Robinson’s defense team arrived at Utah County court with a dolly to move boxes of documents.

The focus of the hearing is whether there’s enough evidence to send Robinson to trial and whether the death penalty will be an option if there’s a conviction.

Shelly Juber, who lives nearby in Orem, got one of the 14 courtroom seats set aside for the public.

“I’m a trial watcher, true-crime enthusiast. … My grandson’s girlfriend was there the day it happened,” she said, referring to Utah Valley University.

For Tyler Robinson to be found guilty at trial, prosecutors will have to prove without any reasonable doubt that he killed Kirk. But the criteria for this week’s preliminary hearing are less strict.

Mark Kouris, who was a prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City, says there’s a low threshold for prosecutors to show the case against Robinson should proceed to trial.

“Effectively, it’s 51% — there’s a 51% chance they did it,” Kouris, now an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, said in an interview. “This standard is extremely low, and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing.”

Charlie Kirk’s family thanked supporters for their kindness and prayers ahead of Monday’s preliminary hearing.

“Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death,” Erika Kirk, his widow, said in a statement posted on X, “and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children.”

She added that the public outpouring “has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.”

The statement was posted on behalf of Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn, his widow and his sister Mary.

“Out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be commenting further at this time,” the brief statement said.

Erika Kirk forgave defendant Tyler Robinson during her husband’s memorial service in September.

“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she said as she struggled to hold back tears.

“I forgive him because it was what Christ did. It is what Charlie would do,” she added.

Her declaration was an outlier among prominent conservatives, including President Donald Trump, who said in September on Fox News that he hopes Robinson gets the death penalty.

Erika Kirk took the helm of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth movement that her husband co-founded, shortly after her husband’s death.

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.

State District Judge Tony Graf said recently that prosecutors violated his restrictions on talking outside the courtroom when Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard told a media outlet his office had ample evidence to convict Tyler Robinson of killing Charlie Kirk.

Robinson’s lawyers argued the comments were intended to influence potential jurors. As a punishment, they wanted the judge to block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.

But Graf said that was too severe, and that Ballard's comments weren’t malicious.

The judge said any potential bias issues could be addressed by expanding the jury pool or more closely questioning potential jurors when the case goes to trial.

Starting with today’s hearing, the focus of the case shifts to whether there is enough evidence for a trial and whether the death penalty is warranted, said Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor and former federal judge.

Cassell said evidence made public to date in court filings suggests prosecutors have “an overwhelming case.”

“This seems like the proverbial slam dunk at this stage of the case, where the only issue is whether there is a sound basis for moving forward with a trial on the merits,” he said.

A death sentence is an option in Utah only when a crime has aggravating circumstances. Prosecutors will argue in Robinson’s case that Kirk’s shooting endangered others in attendance.

Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle used to kill Kirk, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle.

Robinson’s parents had confronted him after authorities released a surveillance photo of the suspect and details about the rifle, authorities have said. His parents convinced him to meet with a family friend, a retired sheriff’s deputy who reportedly helped arrange for Robinson to turn himself in.

Prosecutors have said Robinson left a note 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.” They also said he wrote to his roommate in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Defense attorneys unsuccessfully sought to block prosecutors from using recorded statements from Robinson’s roommate during the hearing. The defense wanted the roommate to testify in person so Robinson could exercise his right to challenge the credibility of witnesses against him. Graf said the time for challenging witnesses would come later.

The proceeding will resemble a mini-trial, with prosecutors planning to offer DNA evidence linking Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, testimony from investigators, autopsy findings, witness statements and video of Kirk’s killing. They are not required to present all their evidence and can use secondhand information or hearsay.

After the hearing concludes, state District Judge Tony Graf must determine if the case should proceed.

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.”

Charlie Kirk’s widow and parents are expected this week in a Utah court where prosecutors seeking the death penalty will argue that the man charged with killing the conservative activist should stand trial for murder.

The five-day preliminary hearing that starts today will be the first time members of Kirk’s family are in the Utah courtroom with defendant Tyler Robinson. The hearing will be livestreamed.

Robinson turned himself in after the shooting. Prosecutors allege that he also sent a text message confession to his partner and left a note saying he had an opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices, “and I’m going to take it.”

He has not entered a plea in the case, however.

Robinson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk, who was addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University. His attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence.

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Attorney Kathryn Nester, left, arrives at the Fourth District Courthouse for a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott)

Charlie Kirk's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, arrive at the Fourth District Courthouse for a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott)

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)

FILE - Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The United States' 250th birthday carries ambitions to galvanize Americans behind nationwide community-service drives and patriotic brand launches. Well-known U.S. nonprofits hope to inspire a record-setting level of volunteerism, while major companies such as Walmart and Coca-Cola are sponsoring tributes and selling limited-edition merchandise.

But the private sector's unifying ambitions have been met with a mixed response, complicated by an uneasy national mood. Fewer Americans see their country as exceptional compared to 10 years ago, according to a recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, part of a broad decline in patriotic sentiment. Views of the American flag — a prominent feature of semiquincentennial celebrations — are divided by politics, age and race.

Rival events, planned by two different commissions, are adding to the conflicted feelings. Late last year President Donald Trump created Freedom 250, a nonprofit led by his allies, to organize alternative programming to America250, the official nonpartisan group formed in 2016 by Congress.

“The American dream is alive again. That’s something that nobody thought they’d be saying when you went through that last four years of incompetence,” Trump said at his June 24 campaign-style rally kicking off Freedom 250's Great American State Fair, which lost nearly all scheduled musical performers over concerns the event had grown too politically charged.

The tone contrasted with one of America250’s tentpoles: America Gives. The initiative aims to strengthen volunteering habits by encouraging Americans to serve with its nonprofit partners and log those hours in an online tracker.

Salvation Army USA National Commander Merle Heatwole lamented that a number of potential participants have assigned political agendas to the nonpartisan program, partnered on by his Christian aid nonprofit. Still, he celebrated that thousands of churches supported their “Good Neighbor Day” of volunteering in May.

“Some people have shied away because they’re not sure whether this is a nonpartisan effort, or whether it’s connected to the Trump administration versus the Democratic administrations,” Heatwole said. “That, I think, has hindered it slightly. But I think that overall, people are excited about having an opportunity to get involved.”

The America Gives tracker counted just over 38 million hours volunteered entering the holiday weekend. It's unclear how many hours would set the single-year record. Americans recorded 4.99 billion service hours in a one-year span from 2022-2023, according to an AmeriCorps analysis of Census Bureau data.

America250 Chair Rosie Rios said there will be a big year-end increase because many partners wait until “the last second" to populate their hours. She emphasized that highlighting the value of service is their only agenda.

Most nonprofits aren't leveraging semiquincentennial campaigns, one consultant found. Jayne Cravens, whose 30-year nonprofit career has included volunteer coordination, said nonprofits lack the infrastructure to provide meaningful service experiences. That's especially so after the Trump administration gutted AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, in 2025. Nonprofits scrambled to replace lost workers and funding.

Audra Watson, who leads youth civic programs at the nonprofit C&S, is spearheading a three-year effort to increase civic engagement among 20 million people ages 14 to 24.

She finds most young people are getting engaged through appeals outside of the 250th. While the milestone has sparked “some excitement for some young people,” she said, those participants are “hand-raisers” already “deeply excited about history.”

The more they encourage young people to consider local impact, where she said they hold the most influence, the more she finds they depart from partisanship.

“For some young people, the 250th is their thing,” she said. "But for many, many more of them this is about really taking that energy and catalyzing that energy around issues of their community.”

Marketing consultants say brands have to tread carefully, given a divided nation and shrinking national pride.

Further jumbling 250th celebration advertising, marketing executives noted, have been the two competing logos. The America250 emblem depicts a bold red, white and blue continuous ribbon that spells out “250.” The Freedom 250 design features the words “Freedom 250” written in a classic serif font, placed inside a circular arrangement of 13 stars, a nod to the original U.S. flag

“Once you have two competing logos, it’s confusing,” said Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce.

Walmart, an America250 founding sponsor, is sponsoring a mobile recording studio that is collecting oral histories across the country. The Library of Congress will archive a selection of stories, the company said.

Coca‑Cola launched “Paint the Nation,” a large-scale public art initiative resulting in dozens of murals created with local artists. The company said each mural will reflect local culture and community pride, creating a “visual legacy that extends beyond the anniversary year.” Commemorative mini-cans are also being issued for all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

Aaron Hilton of Suffolk, Virginia says he’s seen lots of paper plates, cups and T-shirts with the America 250 reference. He's not interested, blaming his lack of enthusiasm on the Trump administration.

“I’ll end up getting the Coke because I do drink Coke, but otherwise I really don’t want to buy anything like that," said Hilton, 36. "I’m not feeling really patriotic about this.”

Darrell Brown, 50, of Alexander, Arkansas, has already bought commemorative T-shirts and flags. Every year, he decorates his lawn with a 7-foot inflatable Uncle Sam. This year, he's added more American flags than usual to commemorate the milestone.

Brown saye he's been sticking to merchandise with America250 references. He finds it politically divisive to have two logos.

“I don’t believe this should be a political issue,” he said. “I think it should be just about celebrating the country, regardless if you’re a Democrat or Republican."

Future generations might be pleasantly surprised to see all their communities accomplished under the milestone's banner, according to M.J. Rymsza-Pawlowska, a cultural historian who wrote a book about the 1976 bicentennial.

She recalled that the Vietnam war and Watergate still felt fresh during those celebrations. President Richard Nixon initially replaced Lyndon B. Johnson’s bipartisan planning commission with one composed of political appointees interested in a top-down celebration of American supremacy.

But Nixon scrapped those plans in place of federal funding for grassroots programming, Rymsza-Pawlowska said, which grew into forms of civic engagement still popular today. Environmental pick-ups and get-out-the-vote work were common forms of bicentennial volunteerism.

Private funders still support such efforts, though not at the scale possible with government backing. State humanities councils launched a “By the People” campaign to fund community-driven programs exploring the nation's culture and imagining its future. Her Washington, D.C. chapter created an oral history project that promises “an intimate and complex portrait of what it means to call the nation’s capital home" today.

“We don’t really know what the ultimate legacy of the 250th will be,” Rymsza-Pawlowska said. “A commemoration is just an opportunity to do a thing that you were already doing but have an occasion for it. And possibly get some money for it.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Patriotic Frosted Sugar Cookies are for sale at the Meijer in Wetherington, Ohio, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

American Flag themed freedom plates are for sale at Jungle Jim's International Market Eastgate in Cincinnati, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Boot Country Work Country's electric sign reads "4th of July 250th Anniversary" in Batavia, Ohio, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Make America Great Again fireworks by Winda are for sale at Lucky Patriot Fireworks in Batavia, Ohio, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A "Happy 250th Birthday" signs seen near the entrance at Lucky Patriot Fireworks in Batavia, Ohio, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)