Prosecutors in Charlie Kirk ‘s killing pointed Tuesday to an engraved bullet, arguing that the inscription “Hey Facist! CATCH!” demonstrates that Kirk was targeted for how the defendant perceived his politics.

Whether defendant Tyler Robinson acted out of political animus could be key for prosecutors seeking the death penalty — or for his attorneys in taking that punishment off the table.

The prosecution and defense have filed dueling documents focused on whether the crime included aggravating factors that would make Robinson eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Those include political targeting and whether the shooting endangered thousands of others who attended Kirk’s Sept. 10 event at Utah Valley University.

Robinson is charged with crimes including aggravated murder and has not yet entered a plea. The 23-year-old defendant turned himself in a day after the shooting.

The latest batch of court documents follows a five-day preliminary hearing in July, when prosecutors presented what they said was “overwhelming” evidence against Robinson, while defense attorneys worked to sow doubt about analysts’ findings.

Judge Tony Graf said he will decide if the case should advance to trial after he hears again from both sides on Sept. 1.

In a document filed late Tuesday, prosecutors argued the engraved bullet found in the suspected murder weapon was an “overt political reference.” They also noted that Robinson allegedly wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Robinson’s attorneys have argued that the text message is not strong enough evidence to prove a political motivation. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment on prosecutors’ new filing.

  • Mulligrubs@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Basically people who think the billionaires control both parties

    So, everybody, right?

    Does anyone think that billionaires don’t control both parties? Jesus, that scares the shit out of me.

    • FiniteBanjo@feddit.online
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      2 days ago

      Yeah I actually think you’re a dumbass being spoonfed propaganda if you think the DNC isn’t going to tax the rich if we gave them more than 48 seats for the first time in 13 years.

      • naught101@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        The DNC is not going to tax the rich. Unless they get taken over by the DSA, but that still seems like a long shot

        • FiniteBanjo@feddit.online
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          1 day ago

          Rhe DNC already increased taxes on the rich under Obama with the 2013 tax plan, Biden increased audits against them, it was in Kamala Harris’ campaign as an unrealized gains tax starting at $1M, and it’s part of the DNC official policy platform to increase their taxes in a variety of ways: https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2024-Democratic-Party-Platform.pdf

          So you can let the GOP and foreign powers push this bullshit bothsides narrative, or you can call their fucking bet and put them in a position where they actually have to follow through.

            • FiniteBanjo@feddit.online
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              1 day ago

              So we’ve established that the RNC has been the anti-tax party since right before Reagan and that the DNC have been responsible for any tax raises in that period. Glad I could help you see the light.

              • naught101@lemmy.world
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                1 day ago

                I have never had any doubt that the republicans are worse. That’s not news.

                But I also don’t think the existing DNC and their policies are a solution. Multiple things need to change: the republicans need to be ousted, and the democrats need to be more progressive/socialist/whatever you want to call it. Defending the DNC doesn’t help with either of those things. The DNC are unappealing to a large majority of voters (including a lot of progressives, which is a large part of why Harris didn’t win).

                Ideally the US also implements a more progressive voting system, but that’s not really on the cards until the other two conditions are met.

                • FiniteBanjo@feddit.online
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                  1 day ago

                  So you yourself cited the DNC being the solution and refuse to believe it? I think we’re done here.