Charlie Kirk's family comes face to face with accused assassin for first time

PROVO, Utah - The family of Charlie Kirk came face to face with his accused assassin for the first time in a Utah courtroom Monday - the first day of what is expected to be a week-long preliminary hearing.

Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hull was on the stand to introduce several videos, including images of Kirk's death that were not shown publicly in court but were shown to the judge and attorneys for both sides. Two of them were described as showing the moment a sniper's bullet struck Kirk in the neck, and they included audio that reporters could hear.

While Judge Tony Graf Jr. flinched and leaned away from the screen when the shot rang out in one of the videos, Robinson remained still during both.

Kirk's family had already left the courtroom before they were played. They were expected to receive warnings before graphic evidence would be introduced and left twice ahead of mentions of the assassination itself.

The Kirks also had some high-profile supporters join them near the front - including Donald Trump Jr., his wife Bettina, and conservative commentators Jack Posobiec and Brandon Tatum.

Robinson's parents, who usually sit in the front row, were in the fourth row Monday with other relatives.

He testified that he believed he heard a rifle shot - not a pistol shot - from the direction of the Losee Center. He said he reached that conclusion after seeing an empty handgun holster on the ground amid the early chaos and looking up to find that the Losee Center rooftop had a clear line of sight to where Kirk was speaking.

He went to the Losee rooftop, where he found a black and red screwdriver and impressions in the gravel that he described as what looked like a "sniper's pad."

He also said he reviewed surveillance video showing the suspect on top of the roof, and he found footprints in the grass where the suspect dropped down and scuff marks on the roof above them. Defense attorney Kathy Nester only got about 10 minutes of cross-examination in before the recess for lunch, but she asked Bagley if his police report from the day mentioned a direction the shot came from.

It didn't, he said. He also didn't know what happened to the handgun holster.

As prosecutors planned to show some UVU surveillance video, Robinson's defense objected. While Graf had overruled most of their objections throughout the day, he sustained this one on the grounds that the video, due to edits including face blurs, zooms and red circles, had not been properly authenticated and could not be played.

The video is expected to be introduced later after prosecutors said they planned to provide an unedited version.

Hull was the second of four witnesses prosecutors said they planned to call to the stand Monday. He is expected to resume testimony Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. MT.

Other video shown Monday included a vehicle alleged to be Robinson's coming and going from a house near the UVU campus after midnight on Sept. 11 - about 12 hours after Charlie Kirk's murder on Sept. 10.

At some point during the week, the court is expected to hear a previously recorded statement from Robinson's former lover Lance Twiggs, who prosecutors allege received a written confession after the crime.

Robinson has not yet entered a plea. He could face the death penalty if convicted of the top charge against him, aggravated murder.