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Tyler Robinson has spent over nine months dodging a plea in the Charlie Kirk assassination case, and a former federal prosecutor says he’s following the same playbook as one of the most notorious murderers in recent memory with one goal in mind.
Robinson, 23, faces several charges after he allegedly shot and killed conservative icon Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. He has yet to enter a plea, as an arraignment cannot be held until the preliminary hearing has been conducted in Utah. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 6-10.
Robinson’s legal team has flooded the court with motions, successfully delaying the case at every chance they’ve gotten.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital that Robinson’s defense is running the same playbook as one of the most notorious murderers in recent memory: Bryan Kohberger.
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Tyler Robinson appears during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on June 12, 2026, in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune)
“Tyler Robinson hasn’t entered a plea because the defense is filing a lot of pretrial motions to put the prosecution on its heels. Things like trying to disqualify the entire Utah County Attorney’s Office, trying to get some of the evidence suppressed, trying to get a contempt order because the prosecutors violated the court’s gag order. These are things the defense’s doing to try to get the death penalty off the table,” Rahmani said. “They’re really taking a playbook from… how the lawyers in Idaho in the Bryan Kohberger case handled that litigation.”
In Kohberger’s case, he pleaded guilty in July 2025 to killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on Nov. 13, 2022.
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Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on July 23, 2025, for sentencing in the University of Idaho murders case, where prosecutors relied heavily on cellphone location data and digital evidence. (Photo by Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)
During court proceedings for that case, Rahmani pointed out, Kohberger’s defense team, led by Anne Taylor, had the strategy of “litigating everything” such as “venue, gag orders, disqualification, suppression, you name it.“
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“What they want to do is file these legal motions because they know they have a better chance of arguing the law than the actual facts of this case and if they prevail on one or more of these motions or if the prosecution thinks that even if they win they may lose on appeal, because in death penalty cases, there are mandatory state and federal appeals,” he said of both cases.
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Rahmani said that the strategy of filing motion after motion is also being done in hopes that prosecutors will eventually offer a plea deal.
“They’re hoping that by filing motion after motion that the prosecution will offer a life without the possibility of parole deal. That of course would be something acceptable to the defense because saving Tyler Robinson’s life would be a huge win,” he added.
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Tyler Robinson appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, on June 12, 2026, in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune)
Judge Tony Graf Jr. dealt a blow to Robinson’s defense on Monday, but pushed a more consequential decision to a new hearing that will be held on Friday.
Robinson’s attorneys have accused prosecutors of violating a gag order in the case by discussing it outside the courtroom, and they have asked Graf to take the potential death penalty off the table as a result. Graf is expected to rule on that on Friday.
On Monday, Graf also denied a bid from Robinson’s defense team to compel his former roommate and lover Lance Twiggs to testify during July’s preliminary hearings.
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Charlie Kirk throws a “Make America Great Again” hat to the crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Prosecutors may use prerecorded testimony from Twiggs, however, in addition to other hearsay evidence during the preliminary hearing. Graf said that while the hearing is a “critical stage of the criminal process,” it’s not a trial.
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Robinson’s attorneys were attempting to block hearsay evidence, which includes prerecorded testimony from Twiggs, the medical examiner’s report, federal DNA and ballistics report and more.
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One of Robinson’s attorneys, Kathryn Nester, also represented Kouri Richins, who was convicted of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022. Richins would go on to write a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death.
Kouri Richins appears at a sentencing hearing with her defense attorney Wendy Lewis in 3rd District Court in Park City on May 13, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)
She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in May after the trial took place in February and March.
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In total, Richins’ trial took place more than four years after her husband’s death.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.