Robinson, 23, of Washington, Utah, was charged with shooting and killing Kirk while he was speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10, 2025. The state is pursuing the death penalty in the case.

The preliminary hearing inside Provo’s 4th District Court began nearly 10 months after Kirk’s death and Robinson’s subsequent arrest. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, were in attendance Monday. The hearing is scheduled to run through Friday.

In the lead-up to the preliminary hearing, prosecutors and the defense team took time to review a large amount of evidence from the shooting, which occurred in front of thousands of people at an on-campus courtyard. Judge Tony F. Graf also ruled on several pretrial motions, including an unsuccessful request by the defense to remove the Utah County Attorney’s Office from the case.

Chris Bagley, a former senior officer for the UVU Police Department who worked the Kirk event last year, was the first witness to take the stand Monday. He testified about his role securing the scene and locating evidence after the shooting. Accompanying exhibits were introduced to the court showing pictures of the crime scene, despite objections from the defense. 

Bagley said he was positioned in the Hall of Flags west of the courtyard when he heard a gunshot coming from the east and saw Kirk fall to his left. He said he proceeded to run down the stairs and into the courtyard. 

Bagley testified he heard over the radio that a shooter had been detained and began canvassing the area, looking for anyone injured before working to preserve the scene.

“I looked down and saw an empty pistol holder that was sitting just on top of the grass. At that moment, things had died down just a split second. I realized that the shot I heard was more of a rifle shot and not a pistol shot,” Bagley said.

He testified that he looked up and saw the Losee Center had a direct line of sight and went up there to investigate. Bagley said he found a screwdriver on the roof and a “disturbance in the gravel.”

“It looked like a sniper pad, a person that had been laying in a prone position, and you’ve got markings of elbows, knees, and feet to where somebody was in the line of sight of where Charlie’s tent was,” Bagley said.

“Then I realized that we probably didn’t have our shooter in custody,” he added.

Bagley also testified that he later viewed security footage of an individual dropping from the northeast side of the Losee Center and that he found a shoe imprint and scratching and rub marks from the top of the roof that appeared abnormal.

During cross-examination, Bagley fielded questions from defense attorney Kathryn Nester about the event’s security and his testimony to the prosecutors. 

Bagley said he did not attend a debrief for the event that morning and that there were six UVU police officers assigned to the event.

Bagley told Nester his initial police report did not say whether he heard shots coming from the east. He testified he was unable to identify the face of the individual or markings on the clothing from the security footage. He said he saw a “long black object” in the individual’s hand but did not see an actual gun.

“So nothing that you found that day, or anyone else to your knowledge on campus was able to identify who the shooter was?” Nester asked.

“During the time that I was there, no, that I know of,” Bagley said.

On Monday afternoon, David Hall, an agent with the State Bureau of Investigation, was the second witness. While Hall was on the stand, the defense objected to the introduction of several exhibits, citing hearsay and Robinson’s right to a fair trial. 

A number of videos displaying evidence from the Sept. 10 incident were ultimately admitted but were not shown by the camera stream displaying the courtroom proceedings.

Hall testified that a medical examiner confirmed Kirk’s cause of death was homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck. He also testified that the state received word from Washington County on Sept. 11, 2025, that a man identified as Robinson had reached out to law enforcement and wanted to turn himself in for the UVU incident. 

The Daily Herald’s print deadline occurred prior to the conclusion of Monday’s proceedings.