Prosecutors in US lay out case against alleged killer of Charlie Kirk 

Prosecutors in the US state of Utah have begun presenting evidence in the case against the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Following the preliminary hearing, which began on Monday and is due to continue for five days, prosecutors will seek to convince a state judge that they have enough evidence to bring shooting suspect Tyler Robinson to trial for the killing of Kirk last September.

While only the initial proceedings, the hearing had the trappings of a full trial, with both defendant Robinson, Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erica Kirk, and his parents in the courthouse. Also in court were Donald Trump Jr, the son of US President Donald Trump, and far-right activist Jack Posobiec.

Robinson has not entered a plea and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. The defence has, however, sought to remove the possibility of the death penalty for Robinson, but has so far been unsuccessful. Trump has called for Robinson to face the death penalty.

For the full trial to proceed, prosecutors must convince the judge there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk. For an eventual conviction, they will have to convince a jury that Robinson is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

Robinson sat between his attorneys during the first day of the hearing, occasionally taking notes, his wrists shackled to a chain around his waist.

The prosecution first called Utah Valley University police officer Chris Bagley as a witness. He recounted Kirk speaking to a large crowd on campus when he was shot.

He recounted going to the top of a nearby building, where he saw indentations in gravel he described as an apparent “sniper pad”.

Defence attorney Kathryn Nester asked Bagley about finding an empty pistol holster on the ground after the crowd fled. Bagley acknowledged he never took custody of the holster and did not know if it was fingerprinted.

Prosecutors were also expected to present what they have called a confession note written by Robinson, text messages in which he allegedly admitted to the crime, and a video testimony from Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner.

Robinson’s lawyers were expected to focus on inconclusive ballistics testing, which could not definitively connect the bullet fragment removed from Kirk’s body with the alleged murder weapon.

Kirk co-founded the conservative student organisation Turning Point USA, and was credited with helping turn out younger voters for Trump.

The US president had blamed Kirk’s killing on “radical left” ideology and vowed to crack down on liberal organisations and donors in response.