People camp outside court to get scarce public seats in hearing on Charlie Kirk's killing

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Folding chairs, sleeping pads and blankets litter the entrance to the Utah courthouse each day before a preliminary hearing for the man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

People have been lining up early — sometimes sleeping there overnight — in hopes of getting a wristband that will allow them access to the courtroom. The 14 coveted seats reserved for the public are first come, first served.

The weeklong preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson has attracted intense national and significant international attention. Wall-to-wall media coverage through livestreams and daily updates has fueled the mix of curiosity and scrutiny that has prompted many spectators to angle for a spot in the courtroom.

The hearing is expected to wrap up Friday. State District Judge Tony Graf then will decide whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge.

Chris Palmer, the court’s director of security, warned Thursday morning that people can no longer bring tents or other camping supplies to the courthouse steps. And there's no jumping the line or saving places, he told those waiting outside.

Once inside, there are more rules spectators must follow aside from simply being respectful.

“These people come here to get justice,” Palmer told those waiting. “They don't need to feel like they're under a microscope when somebody's sitting behind them or ahead of them."

It's a kind of controlled chaos, as sheriff's deputies and court staff hand out wristbands each morning. Beyond the line, reporters and bloggers are armed with cellphones, scanning the entrances in hopes of documenting the arrival of Kirk's family or Robinson's, or other notable names, such as the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.

Earlier in the week, court staff warned that wristbands for public seating were being labeled because security discovered some people bought colored wristbands to sneak in.

Joshua Carr, a local who described himself as an independent journalist, was first in line Thursday. A friend of his arrived at 9 p.m. the night before to hold the spot until Carr arrived at 2:30 a.m.

Carr has been covering the case and the conspiracy theories that surround it for a few months.

“Being in the courtroom is a different thing because you're able to actually feel the emotions, see the expressions on people's faces that aren't shown in the public feed,” he said.

Billie Webb, who made the trip from Salt Lake City, has been following the investigation since Kirk was shot Sept. 10 and attended hearings earlier this year on motions filed by prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Webb arrived at 5 a.m. Wednesday and found herself eighth in line because the proceedings didn't start until the afternoon. She missed the cutoff Thursday despite showing up at 3 a.m. but said she was “absolutely determined” to get in Friday.

Like others, Webb was interested in hearing a recorded law enforcement interview with Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, noting that attorneys had argued much of Wednesday over whether it would be made public.

Webb also wants to be there if the case goes to trial.

“If I have to camp for 24 hours, I will,” she said.

Public and media frenzy over high-profile cases is nothing new. It's usually driven by celebrity, politics, race or sensational crime elements.

One early example was the 1935 trial in New Jersey of the man charged with kidnapping and killing legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh’s baby, which drew crowds and cameras.

O.J. Simpson’s double murder case captured attention in the 1990s. It was widely referred to by the public and the media as the “Trial of the Century.”

More recently, public lines, protests and media presence have followed cases that include Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was sentenced in 2021 to more than two decades in prison for the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

A line forms for people looking to access limited public seating available at a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

People stand outside the Fourth District Courthouse, Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Provo, Utah, after a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

Court staff hands out wristbands for limited public seating at a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

People receive wristbands to access limited public seating available at a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A woman sleeps outside the courthouse in hopes to get access to the limited public seating available at a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's plans to build a skyline-altering arch in the nation's capital won initial approval Thursday from a key federal commission, but its members put off a decision on whether a federal law that limits building heights should be applied to this project.

Despite overwhelming public opposition, the National Capital Planning Commission voted to approve preliminary site and building plans for the 250-foot (76-meter) arch the Republican president wants to build on a traffic circle at the Virginia end of the Memorial Bridge from Washington.

The project, one of several being pursued by Trump in his quest to reshape parts of the nation’s capital to his liking, moved a step closer to reality with the vote.

Staff had recommended in its report on the project that the commission grant such approval and request a series of changes so the arch would comply with the Height of Buildings Act. The suggested changes included redistributing the heights among the main structure of the arch, the habitable roof, where an observation deck is planned, and the statues that would top it.

But commissioners, led by chairman Will Scharf, voted to continue deliberations on whether the law indeed applies.

The staff report said the commission has long applied the law in its approval process. Scharf said the applicant, which is the Interior Department, had, as requested, provided a legal analysis that he said makes a “compelling argument" that the law "is not binding on the federal government." The Interior Department oversees the federal land where the arch would be built.

“My view is that, today, we are just considering this project for preliminary approval and that, as a result, it’s not necessary for us to take up this broader issue of the applicability of the Height of Buildings Act to federal construction until our next meeting at the earliest,” Scharf said.

Eight of the 12 commissioners, including Scharf and two others appointed by Trump, voted for preliminary approval. One was against, and the remaining three commissioners voted present.

“This is a complex project,” Scharf said before the vote. He said a vote on final approval could come at the agency's next meeting, in September.

All 12 commissioners listened to a summary of the staff report and its recommendations, and heard from several dozen people who had signed up to testify about the project.

As the commissioners met, construction continued at the White House on a $400 million ballroom Trump is building there and crews draped tarps over the stone columns at the north entrance to the mansion, where work is being done to scrape off layers of paint.

Some of those who testified against Trump's project opposed building a celebratory arch so close to the solemn burial ground of Arlington National Cemetery. Others suggested it would be more appropriate for a neighborhood near the Capitol and sporting venues.

Michael Lemmon, who is among three Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian who have sued in federal court to stop the arch construction at Memorial Circle, said the arch would disrespect the memory of those laid to rest at the revered burial ground. Trump has said the arch will celebrate 250 years of America's independence.

“As a combat veteran, I feel a duty to protect the memory and honor the sacrifice of my comrades and all those buried there,” Lemmon said. "This vainglorious monumental arch does neither.”

Others noted that memorials to Vietnam veterans, those who fought in World War II and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were built after much debate and years after they were first proposed, and pleaded with the commission for a more deliberative process for the arch.

Opponents say the arch is too big and would disrupt the carefully designed view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery that was meant to symbolize the reunification of the North and the South after the Civil War.

The arch would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and close to half the height of the Washington Monument, at about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.

Concerns about vehicular traffic and pedestrian safety also were expressed on Thursday. Others insisted that Congress must approve the arch — a position Trump disagrees with.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a separate federal agency, approved the design for the arch in May. The National Capital Planning Commission oversees construction on federal land in the city and began reviewing the arch plan in June.

Trump had said last year that the arch could be paid for with unused funds from the hundreds of millions of dollars he said he has raised from corporations, donors and other wealthy people to pay to build a new $400 million ballroom at the White House.

But, as it turns out, some public money will be used for the ballroom project, as well as the arch. The White House has not released a cost estimate for the arch.

This story has been corrected to show that the arch's height is planned for 250 feet, not 260 feet.

Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary, the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial are seen from the Washington Monument, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A model of the proposed triumphal arch, and the ferris wheel are seen at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)