STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Prosecutors this week are laying out their evidence against the man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September. This preliminary hearing will determine whether there is, in fact, probable cause to go to trial on charges that could result in the death penalty. Caroline Ballard from member station KUER joins us from Salt Lake City. She's covering the trial. Good morning.
CAROLINE BALLARD, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. So what is the evidence?
BALLARD: Well, so we're watching this on a livestream. There's really limited space in the courtroom. There was actually a lottery for reporters, so not everyone's getting in. But watching this, there's lots of videos, and that makes sense since these events that Charlie Kirk was at, they were frequently livestreamed, recorded by people in attendance. But really, what they were doing on Day 1 was kind of laying out the scene. We did get to see a couple of videos that they did allow. One was a Ring video of the defendant's car going by and potentially him getting out of it. But they have a lot to get through, 40 to 50 exhibits to get through this week. They got through about a dozen on Monday. They also had two witnesses, both law enforcement, who were describing what they had seen when they were at the crime scene. The most distinctive moment was when former Utah Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hull pointed out Tyler Robinson as the suspect he identified in his investigation.
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DAVID HULL: Yeah. I believe that Mr. Robinson is between Miss Nester and other counsel, wearing a gray suit jacket with a dark tie and a light-colored shirt.
BALLARD: And, you know, Steve, the thing that hangs over all of this is the possibility of the death penalty. In the hours after Kirk was killed, even before they had a suspect, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the state would pursue it, and the defense is going to do everything they can to take that off the table.
INSKEEP: OK. Let's talk about that. How did Robinson's defense team react in this early stage?
BALLARD: Yes. So they objected to every piece of evidence prosecutors introduced. And it's worth noting, the judge only sided with them one time, and that's when the defense asked to block some surveillance videos from Utah Valley University. Prosecutors said they would try to reintroduce them today.
INSKEEP: Yeah. I'm curious. You said there's hardly any seats in the courtroom. Did you get ahold of anybody who got one?
BALLARD: Yes. Members of the public, even though there were only maybe a little more than a dozen seats available, they've lined up in predawn hours Monday to grab one of those few seats. Selena Armitage (ph) got there at 1 a.m.
SELENA ARMITAGE: I want to hear the evidence that the prosecution has because, for me, it's not black and white yet in my mind of what happened. And so that's why I'm here, basically.
BALLARD: This hearing really underscored some of the spectacle around this case too. Donald Trump Jr. was in the courtroom, along with Charlie Kirk's parents and his widow, Erika Kirk. This was also the first time Kirk's and Robinson's parents have been in the same room together.
INSKEEP: Where does this proceeding go from here?
BALLARD: Well, one of the law enforcement officers, David Hull, he's going to be back on the stand starting today. If they go at Monday's pace, it should, by my estimation, wrap up by Thursday, but they're scheduled through the end of the week if they need it.
INSKEEP: Caroline Ballard with member station KUER in Salt Lake City, thanks so much.
BALLARD: Thanks, Steve.
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