10 JUL 26 SITREP

• Judge Graf adjourned the 5-day preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused of the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University (UVU), and continued the proceeding to September 1st at 10 a.m. for an in-person hearing, allocating up to four hours of argument for both parties, with Robinson to be physically present and the court finding that its order prohibiting broadcast of Exhibit 16 was violated by media, resulting in the reversal of Defense Motion 305 and the end of public display of further exhibits, though cameras were not removed.
• Key physical evidence presented during the hearing included a cartridge case recovered from the chamber of the rifle used, text messages between Robinson and witness Lance Twiggs, a handwritten note found under Robinson's keyboard at the St. George apartment, and testimony from Erika Kirk's roommate that Robinson left the apartment early on September 10th after asking for a dremel tool to engrave messages on bullets.
• Will Chamberlain, senior counsel for the Article III Project, assessed that the Twiggs video interview alone revealing at least two confessions by Robinson, including one over text and one via the handwritten note, is likely sufficient for a probable cause finding, but noted the video itself will not be admissible at trial due to hearsay rules and Robinson's Sixth Amendment right to confront his accuser, meaning Twiggs is expected to be subpoenaed to testify in person and will be subject to cross-examination.
• Twiggs was granted use immunity, the more limited form, meaning the state cannot use his testimony or its investigative fruits against him; he did not delete the text exchange as Robinson instructed, cooperated with law enforcement, and can authenticate the handwritten note, a critical function at trial since without him the provenance and authorship of the note cannot be established for the jury.

• A field correspondent conducted an on-site walkthrough of UVU campus in Utah, retracing the alleged path taken by Robinson on September 10, identifying the specific staircase presented in court proceedings, the retaining wall Robinson used, and multiple security cameras positioned along the route including at the top of the Losee Center and on surrounding buildings.
• The walkthrough identified the parking area where Robinson allegedly parked his Dodge Challenger, the Orangutan Center cafeteria containing a Chick-fil-A where Robinson allegedly had lunch before the shooting, and the Losee Center roof as the confirmed vantage point from which the shot was taken, with the correspondent estimating the post-shooting drop from the roof at approximately 16 feet.
• A Nest video capturing Robinson's car on the night after the shooting recorded loud crickets in the background at the exact moment Robinson sent Twiggs a text message describing the crickets, providing independent corroboration of Robinson's location and the Twiggs testimony, while Robinson's body language during proceedings, grimacing and visibly uncomfortable during the Twiggs video and text message presentations, was noted by media observers seated in the jury box.
• The UVU campus, featuring multiple split-level areas, utility ladders, tunnels, and at least five to six accessible roof levels, presented numerous access routes; students have sought counseling in the aftermath, a petition has been filed for a statue of Charlie Kirk to be erected on campus, and the site has been marked as a lasting location in the proceedings record with the 10-month anniversary of Kirk's death falling during the week of the hearing.

• Jack reported that at the very end of the session the livestream was turned off and a previously unseen zoomed-in segment of the Losee Center rooftop video was played exclusively for those physically present, including Charlie Kirk's family, Tyler Robinson's family, Tyler Robinson himself, and members of media including Fox News, CBS, and the New York Times; Jack stated the video showed Robinson walking up the stairs slowly with a limp, climbing over the guardrail onto the gravel roof of the Losee Center, assembling the rifle, moving to the roof's edge, lying down in the prone position, and at 12:23 taking the shot before getting up, wrapping the rifle in a towel, and running away.
• Jack stated he could also observe a phone clearly visible in Robinson's hand at multiple points in the stairwell and walkway footage from the parking structure, not pixelated and not zoomed in, noting this could constitute additional locational evidence if the case proceeds to trial, and further observed that the defense did not challenge this video or attempt to introduce cell phone location data to rebut it during the preliminary hearing, instead limiting their challenges to DNA methodology and ballistic science.
• Jack noted that defense attorney Novak stipulated at one point during cross-examination that the text messages and Discord messages were sent by Tyler Robinson, and assessed that the defense strategy of attacking the underlying science of DNA and ballistics rather than the specific evidence in this case reflects an outdated courtroom approach that he does not believe a modern Utah jury will accept.
• Lastly, Jack reported that on September 11 Robinson met in person with Lance Twiggs at their Utah townhouse, where Robinson was seen pacing frantically and confessed again that he killed Charlie Kirk; Posobiec also highlighted that both Robinson's and Twiggs's DNA were found on the Dremel tool used to engrave the bullets, and raised unresolved questions about the extent of Twiggs's prior knowledge given that Robinson had been engraving phrases including the Antifa anthem Bella Ciao and Hey Fascist Catch on unfired casings while Twiggs claimed they never discussed political or LGBT issues.