During Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing for the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, a claim circulated widely on social media suggesting that surveillance footage presented in court clearly showed Robinson firing the fatal shot.
The assertion gained traction after an X user posted that high-quality surveillance video from Utah Valley University, shown during the proceedings, depicted Robinson “TAKING THE SHOT.” This user claimed that Robinson was “SCREWED” and heading back to jail, adding that press were not permitted to stream the video, limiting its viewing to those present in the courtroom.
Other social media users echoed this sentiment, with one stating, “The zoomed in video shows him taking the shot. It’s over.”
However, this claim has been found to be false. While surveillance footage was indeed presented, and it showed Robinson’s movements, including him on a rooftop, court reports and publicly available information do not support the assertion that the video captured the actual shooting. Community Notes applied to some of these social media posts clarified that court attendees and reports indicated the video showed movements and a prone position on a roof, but did not clearly show the shot being fired. Earlier testimony also suggested there was no footage of the shooting itself.
Prosecutors utilized the surveillance footage as part of a larger presentation to reconstruct Robinson’s actions in the 48 hours leading up to Kirk’s death. Their case was further bolstered by CCTV footage, witness accounts, a recorded interview with Robinson’s roommate, and text messages between the two. The footage shown on Friday, July 10, reportedly depicted Robinson running across a rooftop on the day of the incident. Prosecutors argued that Robinson used his grandfather’s rifle to kill Kirk and then attempted to conceal his involvement.
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