News24 | Erika Kirk comes face-to-face with husband Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer

The widow of assassinated right-wing activist Charlie Kirk came face-to-face on Monday with the man alleged to have killed him during a court hearing in the western United States.

Erika Kirk was among those attending a preliminary hearing that will determine if there is enough evidence for 23-year-old Tyler Robinson to face trial over the September 2025 shooting on a Utah university campus.

The killing of Kirk, a right-wing luminary whose Turning Point USA organisation was key to mobilising young people to vote for US President Donald Trump, sent shockwaves through America’s politics and roiled debate for weeks.

Erika Kirk, who was accompanied in the Utah court by Donald Trump Jr and other high-profile figures on the right, said her husband had been “beloved”.

“Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children,” she wrote on social media hours before the proceedings started.

“We remain deeply grateful for the support, prayers, and kindness we have received. This outpouring has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.”

READ | Erika Kirk, widow of influential activist, endorses JD Vance for 2028 presidential run

On the first day of the hearing, which is scheduled to last all week, Robinson appeared in court in handcuffs, wearing a grey suit and a dark tie.

He has not yet indicated whether he intends to plead guilty or not.

Investigators say Robinson – raised Mormon in a Republican household – murdered Charlie Kirk because he could not tolerate the “hate” he preached.

Reuters reported that a Utah state investigator on Monday identified Robinson in court as the suspect who video evidence showed was at a university campus four times on the day Kirk was shot dead ‌while debating with students.

In a key hearing in one of the nation’s highest-profile homicide cases, agent David Hull said investigators used surveillance video to piece together Robinson’s movement on 10 September 2025, after learning his identity when he told police he was willing to surrender.

Hull said police identified Robinson’s silver Dodge Challenger once they ran his driver’s license details and found he had been on the campus twice before the shooting, at the time of the shooting, and afterward.

Utah County prosecutor David ⁠Sturgill asked Hull if he would recognise the person in the surveillance videos if he were in the courtroom, to which Hull said he could.

“I believe that Mr Robinson is between Miss Nester and other counsel, wearing a grey suit jacket with a dark ti