Bullet fragments recovered from the scene of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's murder became the focus of a preliminary hearing on Thursday, when a federal firearms expert testified that ballistics testing could neither confirm nor exclude the rifle prosecutors allege was used by the accused, Tyler Robinson. The testimony matters because it addresses weeks of speculation, fuelled by earlier court filings, that the ballistics evidence had significantly weakened the prosecution's case against the 23-year-old, who faces an aggravated murder charge and a possible death penalty.

Samantha Karner, an examiner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told the court her conclusion was "inconclusive" and that she was "unable to say one way or another" whether the fragments came from the recovered rifle. Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Kirk as he addressed a crowd at Utah Valley University on 10 September 2025. His attorneys had cited an earlier ATF report — which stated a bullet jacket fragment from Kirk's autopsy could not be identified as fired from the rifle — prompting online claims that the bullet "did not match", though Karner stressed her testing did not rule the weapon out either. The hearing will determine whether Robinson stands trial.