(AFP) – Investigators probing the murder of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk cannot connect the bullet that killed him with the rifle they believe the sole suspect used, US court papers filed by the defense show. Tyler Robinson is accused of shooting Kirk at a Utah university campus last September, in a crime that rocked America and sent waves of grief through right-wing political circles.
At a court hearing in Utah, Robinson’s attorneys said they needed more time to sift through the mountains of evidence the case has generated against their client. They also raised concerns about the quality of that evidence, pointing to a summary of a report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “The defense has been provided with an ATF summary report which indicates that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr. Robinson,” a court document dated March 27 says.
Lawyers also queried DNA evidence being presented in the case, which the ATF and FBI said could consist of “mixtures of up to ‘five or more’ individuals.” State prosecutor Christopher Ballard told TMZ that the apparent evidence gap was not an issue. “Generally, when a bullet fragment analysis comes back as inconclusive, that means the fragment did not contain enough detail for the examiner to say one way or the other,” he told the outlet. “We have ample evidence to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyler Robinson committed this murder and we will present some of that evidence at the upcoming preliminary hearing — and then we will present all of that evidence at the trial.”
Kirk’s shocking death on September 10, which was captured on video, roiled US society for weeks, with President Donald Trump threatening a clampdown on the “radical left” that he and other conservatives blamed. Authorities say Robinson shot Kirk from a rooftop across the campus of Utah Valley University because of the influential activist’s views. Robinson was arrested the day after the killing when his family persuaded him to turn himself in because they had recognized him in photographs issued by investigators.
He faces the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder. Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to build support for conservative positions, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement. In the wake of his murder, a number of people lost their jobs after backlash from conservatives emerged over what they posted online or said publicly about Kirk. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel was briefly suspended from his show on the ABC network following government pressure after he said Trump’s MAGA movement was trying to make political capital from the killing.
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