By Nathan Frandino and Jimmy Urquhart
PROVO, Utah, July 7 (Reuters) – Utah prosecutors showed a video on Tuesday that an investigator said showed the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk last year in a sniper’s position on the roof of a university campus building from which the prominent conservative activist was shot.
The evidence was presented during the second day of a preliminary hearing in Provo, Utah, in which prosecutors are trying to convince District Court Judge Tony Graf to bring Tyler Robinson, 23, to trial. Robinson faces seven criminal charges, including aggravated murder. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
Utah investigator David Hull, testifying as the video was shown, said the images were recorded as the shot was fired, “and the individual then stands up and then moves across the building to the north.” Hull identified the person as Robinson.
The hearing, expected to last all week, is the first public test of prosecution evidence concerning Kirk’s September 10 assassination, one of a series of attacks that have intensified concern over U.S. political violence in recent years. Erika Kirk, his widow, was in the courtroom on Monday and Tuesday.
Kirk, a co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was credited with energizing many young voters behind Donald Trump in his campaign to regain the presidency in the 2024 U.S. election. Kirk was shot while appearing at Utah Valley University in Orem for a campus debate attended by thousands of people.
Hull testified that surveillance videos showed Robinson making contact with representatives of Turning Point at the university on the day of the shooting, investigating access to the building from which the shot was fired, and having lunch at a campus fast-food restaurant.
Prosecutors want Robinson to stand trial for allegedly firing a single shot that killed Kirk at the university, located 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.
Prosecutors this week are offering evidence that they say ties Robinson to the shooting. They are expected to present surveillance video, statements Robinson made to friends and relatives, and DNA tests linking him to the alleged murder weapon.
Robinson turned himself in to police the day after the shooting. He has not yet entered a plea. His lawyers have yet to comment on his guilt or innocence.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; Editing by Donna Bryson and Will Dunham)
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