Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Tyler Robinson Tells The Court That There Is Not Enough Evidence To Proceed To Trial (Part 5) (8/15/26)

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Tyler Robinson Tells The Court That There Is Not Enough Evidence To Proceed To Trial (Part 5) (8/15/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

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  Speaker 1: What's up everyone, and welcome back to the program. In
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  Speaker 1: this episode, we're again right back too. The tyler Robinson
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  Speaker 1: responds to the State of Utah and their attempt to
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  Speaker 1: bind them over for trial. Three. Count seven must be
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  Speaker 1: stricken because the evidence does not establish that mister Robinson
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  Speaker 1: had knowledge that a child under the age of fourteen
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  Speaker 1: was present and would see or hear the commission of
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  Speaker 1: the charge thomicide. The information charges mister Robinson in count
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  Speaker 1: seven with the substantative offense of knowingly exposing a child
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  Speaker 1: under the age of fourteen to the charged thomicide, in
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  Speaker 1: violation of Utah Code Section seven six Dash three Dash
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  Speaker 1: two oh three Dash ten two. This section of Utah
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  Speaker 1: law requires a state to prove what a violent offense
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  Speaker 1: occurred in the physical presence of a child younger than
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  Speaker 1: fourteen years old, with the defendant having knowledge that the
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  Speaker 1: child is present and mayor see or hear the commission
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  Speaker 1: of a violent criminal offense Utah Code Section seventy six
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  Speaker 1: Dash three Dash tow three Dash ten two. The state
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  Speaker 1: is failed to present sufficient evidence to establish probable cause
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  Speaker 1: that mister Robinson did in fact have the requisite knowledge.
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  Speaker 1: While the state presented a video which shows two children
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  Speaker 1: in fact present at the TPUSA rally at UVU on
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  Speaker 1: September tenth, twenty twenty five. The state presented no evidence
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  Speaker 1: that the shooter was aware of this child's presence, nor
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  Speaker 1: that he was aware of the presence of any other
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  Speaker 1: child under the age of fourteen. Without any evidentiary support,
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  Speaker 1: the state invites the court to speculate that mister Robinson,
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  Speaker 1: from approximately four hundred feet away and during a thirty
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  Speaker 1: five to forty four second period, came to be aware
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  Speaker 1: of the presence of children under the age of fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: relying upon mister Robinson's alleged walking tour of the campus
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  Speaker 1: several hours before the TPUSA rally began. There was no
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  Speaker 1: evidence that mister Robinson was anywhere near the crowd that
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  Speaker 1: formed prior to the rally, or that he observed children
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  Speaker 1: or families with children making their way to the space
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  Speaker 1: where the rally occurred. Indeed, the path mister Robinson traveled,
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  Speaker 1: as visible in State Exhibit twelve Dot one and twelve
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  Speaker 1: Dot four, suggests mister Robinson did not even pass anyone
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  Speaker 1: that could be identified as under fourteen years old. The
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  Speaker 1: reasonable inference might differ in the location of the incident
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  Speaker 1: where not a college campus. If a defendant were to
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  Speaker 1: engage in crimes of violence at an obviously occupied elementary
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  Speaker 1: school or a day care facility, it might be reasonable
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  Speaker 1: to infer the knowledge required under count seven. With the
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  Speaker 1: evidence as it is, this is not a reasonable inference. A.
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  Speaker 1: The violent offense committed in the presence of a child.
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  Speaker 1: Aggravating factor must be stricken for the same reason, there's
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  Speaker 1: no evidence that mister Robinson had the requisite knowledge. Separate
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  Speaker 1: and apart from count seven, the state is alleged the
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  Speaker 1: identical aggravating factor in connection with counts one and two
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  Speaker 1: purs Utah Code Section seventy six Dash three two three
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  Speaker 1: dot nine, the analysis is no different. There's no evidence
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  Speaker 1: that mister Robinson had the requisite knowledge, and the state
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  Speaker 1: and properly invites the court to speculate ce Murphy twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty six, Utah at thirty eight. An inference is a
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  Speaker 1: conclusion reached by considering other facts and deducing a logical
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  Speaker 1: consequence from them, and speculation intels the act or practice
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  Speaker 1: of theorizing about matters over which there is no certain
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  Speaker 1: knowledge at hand. B. The state's backup position that sentencing
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  Speaker 1: enhancements are not subject to proof that prelim hearing is
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  Speaker 1: inconsistent with well established constitutional law. The state asserts that
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  Speaker 1: the enhancements alleged in the information are not subject to
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  Speaker 1: this Court's review in a prelim hearing. The state is
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  Speaker 1: incorrect about this important matter and relies on invalidated distinction
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  Speaker 1: between elements and sentencing factors. While the Uti Ta Supreme
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  Speaker 1: Court did hold in cases in the seventies and eighties,
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  Speaker 1: in the year two thousand, the United States Supreme Court
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  Speaker 1: squarely held that any fact which increases the potential punishment
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  Speaker 1: in a case other than criminal history facts are elements
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  Speaker 1: of the offense which must be proven to a jury
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  Speaker 1: beyond a reasonable doubt Apprendy verse New Jersey, nineteen eighty.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, the Court wrote, it's unconstitutional for a legislature
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  Speaker 1: to remove from the jury the assessment of facts that
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  Speaker 1: increase the prescribed range of penalties to which a criminal
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  Speaker 1: defendant is exposed. It's equally clear that such facts must
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  Speaker 1: be established by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Here, the
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  Speaker 1: state is charged mister Robinson in an information subject to
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  Speaker 1: probable cause determination with two separate sentencing enhancements, each of
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  Speaker 1: which carries the possibility of increasing mister Robinson's punishment. Utah
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  Speaker 1: Code Section seventy six Dash three Dash two oh three
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  Speaker 1: dot nine requires that this sentencing Court or the Board
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  Speaker 1: of Pardons and Parole to consider whether the knowing presence
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  Speaker 1: of a child enhancement has been proven in the course
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  Speaker 1: of exercising their authority over sentencing and release decisions. Utah
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  Speaker 1: Code Section six Dash three Dash two three fourteen is
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  Speaker 1: a victim targeting enhancement which makes one classification higher the
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  Speaker 1: offense for which the defendant was convicted. Therefore, it's too
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  Speaker 1: subject to apprend die where the state has elected not
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  Speaker 1: to proceed by way of grand jerry, but instead elects
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  Speaker 1: to present the evidence in support of its information to
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  Speaker 1: a magistrate. The defendant's constitutional right not to be tried
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  Speaker 1: on any of the charge defenses absent in an initial
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  Speaker 1: finding a probable cause, extends to enhancements that increase the
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  Speaker 1: potential punishment. This is a logical consequence of apprende, which
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  Speaker 1: eliminated with exceptions not applicable here. The distinction between elements
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  Speaker 1: of an offense and sentencing factors which increase the maximum punishment.
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  Speaker 1: The state must prove each of the enhancements to the
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  Speaker 1: court sitting as a magistrate by a probable cause as
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  Speaker 1: to the violent offense committed in the presence of a child.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Robinson has explained above why the state has failed
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  Speaker 1: to meet its burden of proof. Mister Robinson now turns
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  Speaker 1: to the second enhancement alleged in the information, the allegation
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  Speaker 1: that mister Robinson selected mister Kirk based upon mister Robinson's
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  Speaker 1: views of mister Kirk's political expression Part four. The state
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  Speaker 1: has failed to produce reliable evidence that the victim targeting
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  Speaker 1: enhancement applies here. The victim targeting enhancement, set fourth in
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  Speaker 1: Utah Code section seventy six Dash three DASH two three
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  Speaker 1: fourteen is focused on the defendant's perception concerning a personal
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  Speaker 1: attribute of the victim. The single personal attribute alleged in
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  Speaker 1: the information is mister Kirk's political expression section seventy six
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  Speaker 1: three two oh three fourteen one K without any further
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  Speaker 1: specificity in the charging document. In support of this enhancement,
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  Speaker 1: the state profers two disconnected sets of facts which fail
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  Speaker 1: to establish probable cause. One set is Exhibit five Dot
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  Speaker 1: one A Rule eleven oh two witness statement of David Engelhardt,
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  Speaker 1: a pastor. Pastor Engelhardt's statement contains no information concerning mister
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  Speaker 1: Robinson's state of mind as to mister Kirk's political expression.
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  Speaker 1: While it purports to present this court with information as
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  Speaker 1: to what Charlie Kirk believed as all theologically orthodox Christians
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  Speaker 1: believe about gender identity and sexuality, it does not identify
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  Speaker 1: any specific statement made by mister Kirk on these topics
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  Speaker 1: prior to September tenth, twenty twenty five. It also identifies
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  Speaker 1: subject matters that mister Kirk would debate and discuss at
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  Speaker 1: various events, but it does not identify a specific political
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  Speaker 1: expression of mister Kirk on such topics, let alone statements
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  Speaker 1: of mister Kirk that were both known to and motivated
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  Speaker 1: by mister Robinson. Therefore, mister Inglehart's written sermon as to
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  Speaker 1: what all theologically orthodox Christians, including mister Kirk, believe, does
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  Speaker 1: not establish that mister Robinson intentionally selected the victim of
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  Speaker 1: the criminal offense because of the defendant's belief or perception
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  Speaker 1: regarding the victim's personal attribute or a personal attribute of
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  Speaker 1: another individual or group of individuals with whom the victim
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  Speaker 1: has a relationship. The only other fact is mister Robinson's
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  Speaker 1: statement to mister Twiggs, I've had enough of his hatred.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Robinson does not tell mister Twiggs in the text,
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  Speaker 1: nor was there, according to mister Twiggs, any prior communication
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  Speaker 1: between them concerning mister Kirk, nor that mister Robinson targeted
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  Speaker 1: mister Kirk because of his religious beliefs, or his political beliefs,
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  Speaker 1: or any other category of beliefs. He refers to hatred
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  Speaker 1: and nothing more. Ironically, it's the state that argues that
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  Speaker 1: because mister Robinson and mister Twiggs are two men who
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  Speaker 1: love each other, and or it speculates because mister Twigs
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  Speaker 1: and not mister Robinson was at least intermittently identifying as
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  Speaker 1: a female to his close friends, it's mister Kirk's views
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  Speaker 1: on these topics which are the hatred mister Robinson was
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  Speaker 1: referring to. These circumstances are not sufficient to establish, even
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  Speaker 1: by probable cause, which if any political expression of mister
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  Speaker 1: Kirk motivated mister Robinson to select mister Kirk for an
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  Speaker 1: act of violence. There is no evidence a specific political
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  Speaker 1: expression of mister Kirk, which, if any, mister Robinson may
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  Speaker 1: have been aware of or focused on There are no
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  Speaker 1: writings attributed to mister Robinson on the topic. There are
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  Speaker 1: no other statements by mister Robinson to third parties which
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  Speaker 1: address mister Kirk or his political viewpoints and mister Robinson's
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  Speaker 1: perception of them. After searching his residence, his parents' residence,
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  Speaker 1: his computers, his telephone, mister twigs telephone, and hundreds of
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  Speaker 1: law enforcement interviews, there is nothing to base his sentencing
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  Speaker 1: enhancement upon other than that's criticism of mister Kirk's hatred.
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  Speaker 1: In the face of absence of evidence, the state focuses
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  Speaker 1: on Robinson's sexuality and mister Twigg's gender identity, if only
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  Speaker 1: because those are two topics on which mister Kirk was
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  Speaker 1: in fact widely viewed as expressing hatred and intolerance. However,
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  Speaker 1: that is not evidentiary substitute for proof that mister Robinson
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  Speaker 1: targeted mister Kirk because of those expressions. It's the state
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  Speaker 1: speculation that he did, so the victim targeting enhancement must
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  Speaker 1: be stricken conclusion. In relying largely on hearsay deemed reliable
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  Speaker 1: by rule, the state has failed to prove probable cause
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  Speaker 1: by reliable evidence that satisfies each element of each of
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  Speaker 1: the charged evidence. For this reason alone, the Court must
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  Speaker 1: decline bind over. In addition, the state has not provided
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  Speaker 1: the Court with sufficient evidence as a matter of law
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  Speaker 1: to satisfy the sole alleged aggravator in the information. Under
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  Speaker 1: controlling constitutional law and Utah Supreme Court interpretation, the Core
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  Speaker 1: cannot find, based on the state's evidence, that the circumstances
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  Speaker 1: presented a great risk of death to another other than
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  Speaker 1: Charlie Kirk and himself, and that the shooter knew of
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  Speaker 1: this high probability of death of another. Finally, the Court
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  Speaker 1: had declined to bind over on the state's alleged aggravators
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  Speaker 1: and count six and seven, where the state requires the
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  Speaker 1: Court to speculate an absence of evidence to establish essential elements, respectfully,
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  Speaker 1: submitted this eleventh day of August twenty twenty six. It
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  Speaker 1: was signed by Kathy Nester, Michael Burt, Richard Novak, and
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  Speaker 1: Stacy Visser. All the information that goes with this episode
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  Speaker 1: can be found in the description box.