The case against the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk has hit a fresh hurdle, after defence lawyers said a federal firearms analysis could not conclusively match the fatal bullet fragment to the rifle allegedly linked to the suspect.
In a recent filing to Utah District Judge Tony Graf, lawyers for 22-year-old Tyler Robinson said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was “unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr. Robinson”. They added that the FBI is still carrying out both a second comparative bullet analysis and a lead bullet analysis, with neither process yet complete.
Robinson’s legal team is now asking for a six-month delay to the preliminary hearing, saying they need time to obtain the ATF’s full case files and testing protocols and have the material independently reviewed by an expert. The hearing is currently scheduled for May and is intended to determine whether the case will proceed to trial.
The filing could complicate the prosecution’s path, particularly if independent experts also fail to connect the bullet fragment to the rifle recovered near Utah Valley University in Orem. Even so, the current dispute appears to centre on an inconclusive result rather than a definitive mismatch, according to reporting on the court documents.
Kirk was fatally shot on 10 September 2025 during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. Robinson was later arrested and charged with aggravated murder and several other felonies. Prosecutors have indicated they intend to seek the death penalty, although Robinson has not entered a plea.
While the defence is expected to use the ballistics issue to challenge the strength of the case, prosecutors are still relying on a broader body of evidence. Earlier reporting has pointed to messages and other material investigators say tie Robinson to the shooting, meaning the case does not rest on ballistics alone.
