Charlie Kirk‘s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson appeared in court on Monday but hid his face during the hearing.
Robinson, 22, and his newly appointed legal counsel said they are not waiving his right to a preliminary hearing where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence against him to go forward with a trial.
The alleged assassin was not present in court as his lawyers and state prosecutors discussed the case.
He was listening on video but was not seen, as the camera was turned off.
Prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty.
Utah’s court system gives people accused of crimes an option to waive their legal right to a preliminary hearing and instead schedule an arraignment where they can enter a plea.
Tyler Robinson, 24, appeared in court on Monday but was not seen. He is pictured during his first court appearance earlier this month
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot dead at Utah Valley University on September 10
The alleged assassin was not present in court as his lawyers and state prosecutors discussed the case
The hearing in Provo was open to the public, just a few miles from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem where many students are still processing trauma from the September 10 shooting and the day-and-a-half search for the suspect.
Authorities arrested Robinson when he showed up with his parents at his hometown sheriff’s office in southwest Utah, more than a three-hour drive from the site of the shooting, to turn himself in. Prosecutors have since revealed incriminating text messages and DNA evidence that they say connect Robinson to the killing.
A note that Robinson had left for his romantic partner before the shooting said he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices, ‘and I’m going to take it,’ Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told reporters before the first hearing. Gray also said that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: ‘I had enough of his hatred.’
The assassination of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism, has galvanized Republicans who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of moving American politics further right.
Trump has declared Kirk a ‘martyr’ for freedom and threatened to crack down on what he called the ‘radical left.’
Kirk’s political organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, brought young, evangelical Christians into politics through his podcast, social media and campus events.
Many prominent Republicans are filling in at the upcoming campus events Kirk planned to attend, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Sen. Mike Lee at Utah State University on Tuesday.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .