There is something deeply unsettling about a man allegedly eating a chicken sandwich with the people he was about to devastate. Tyler Robinson, 23, reportedly mingled with Turning Point USA staff and grabbed lunch at the campus Chick-fil-A in the hours before he allegedly assassinated Charlie Kirk, according to testimony that emerged Tuesday during his preliminary hearing in Provo, Utah.
The chilling new details, first reported by Trending Politics, paint a picture of a suspect who was allegedly hiding in plain sight on the Utah Valley University campus on Sept. 10, 2025, the day Kirk was shot and killed during a TPUSA event.
David Hull, the lead investigator on the case, testified that campus surveillance footage tracked the individual he identified as Robinson throughout the day. Hull said the person interacted with Turning Point USA staff and ate Chick-fil-A for lunch, which sounds like a normal college campus afternoon right up until it very much was not.
The Chick-fil-A detail might seem minor, but as commentator Jack Posobiec noted on social media, if Robinson used a card for the purchase, that transaction could be tracked and used to corroborate the video evidence. Nothing like a $12.49 spicy deluxe combo leaving a digital breadcrumb trail for investigators.
Subsequent footage reportedly showed the individual alleged to be Robinson wearing different clothing, because apparently changing outfits mid-assassination plot is something prosecutors want the judge to consider. Additional footage showed a person on the roof of a campus building at the time of the shooting. That person later lowered himself from the building while holding something in his hand, according to testimony. Investigators have focused on the Losee Center for Student Success as the location from which the fatal shot was fired.
The footage is central to the prosecution's case, which aims to establish Robinson's alleged path from arrival to the rooftop and then away from the scene after Kirk was shot.
Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, attended Tuesday's hearing, according to the AP. The Kirk family was also present Monday but left the courtroom as a witness began discussing the details of Kirk's death. Before the hearing began this week, the family released a statement that captures the weight of these proceedings.
"Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children," the family said. "We remain deeply grateful for the support, prayers, and kindness we have received. This outpouring has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives."
Robinson has not yet entered a plea. He faces aggravated murder and other felony charges, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if he is convicted. The preliminary hearing is expected to continue Wednesday, where presumably more surveillance footage and forensic evidence will be introduced.
The whole thing is a grim reminder that the person who allegedly carried out this attack did not skulk around in the shadows. He allegedly walked among the very people whose world he was about to destroy, eating America's favorite fast food chicken like it was just another Tuesday.
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