A Utah judge has ruled that the murder trial of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, can proceed. Robinson, 23, has pleaded not guilty and could face the death penalty if convicted. The case has drawn attention because, contrary to claims from both political sides that the killing was an ideologically motivated assassination, the evidence gathered so far does not clearly support either narrative, according to psychologist Dr Phil in this opinion piece.

Robinson was arrested nearly two days after Kirk was shot dead on 10 September at Utah Valley University, but voter records show he was registered with neither major party and had never voted, while his family describe him as largely apolitical. He left no manifesto or ideological history, and his partner, Lance Twiggs, says Robinson never spoke of Kirk or expressed hatred towards him. Instead, engravings on bullet casings found near the scene reportedly reference online gaming and roleplay culture, alongside one more overtly political phrase, leaving investigators with a puzzling mix of personal-seeming hostility and an apparent absence of any prior connection to or interest in Kirk.