← The Isabel Brown Show
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That's why you rack There's a lot swirling on the Internet about Tyler Robinson, about Charlie Kirk, about this particular trial. So frankly, for my own benefit, I decided to go down the whole deep dive rabbit hole of everything you actually need to know before the preliminary hearings start next week on July 6th. And I hope this is helpful to you too in order to form your own opinions about everything going on and just get the objective truth lay of the land before the circus continues getting even crazier in the next few weeks. Obviously, it goes without saying I have a deep personal vested interest in this trial. Charlie Kirk was one of my dearest friends over the past decade of my life. He was my closest mentor for the last eight years and I was so privileged to work for him off and on for about eight years. So I'm following this trial a whole lot more closely than any in my lifetime. Though I do think there's a lot of similarities related to some other high profile trials that have happened since I've been born in America too, largely related to the media circus that has ensued before the trial even begins. In less than a week on July 6, the entire media circus will descend upon Utah, where the preliminary hearings for this trial are set to begin. Now we'll get into the difference between a preliminary hearing and an actual trial, because they are not the same thing. But what you need to know about next week is that this will be the largest and most significant presentation of evidence related to Tyler Robinson being the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk and hopefully will answer a lot of unanswered questions that seemingly everyone on the Internet is speculating about over the last nine months. In case you didn't already know, Tyler Robinson, as Charlie's alleged assassin, is facing multiple different criminal charges, and this trial is going to address all of them at once, the most significant of which being the charge of aggravated murder, which may or may not land him with the death penalty in the sentencing of that particular charge. But he also has some lesser charges that he'll be facing as well, including felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and even committing a violent act in the presence of a child as its own criminal charge, based on everything that happened nine months ago last fall at Utah Valley University. If you've been tuning out some of the podcast and nonsense related to all of this, but focusing a little bit more on the trial proceedings, you may already know that Tyler Robinson's defense attorneys have asked the court to throw out the possibility of Tyler receiving the death penalty if he is found guilty for that charge of aggravated murder. But just a few days ago, Judge Tony Graf, who is presiding over the case, has denied that request flat out, meaning that if Tyler is found guilty for that one particular criminal charge, he may receive the death penalty as a part of his sentencing once the trial is over. The defense has also asked the judge to ban any sort of presence of cameras in the courtroom because they are trying to protect the identity and potential innocence of Tyler as much as humanly possible. But we also know that the judge denied that request, saying that this case has significant public interest, especially given the public nature of how Charlie was assassinated. Cameras ought to remain in the courtroom, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Regardless of what you ever thought about Charlie Kirk, the whole world virtually had to watch him die. I think the whole world deserves to see what happens to his alleged assassin and to hopefully see justice come to fruition in the process. So a couple big blows to the defense already before even the preliminary hearings, let alone the trial, has actually begun. But the prosecution hasn't been immune from some of those blows either. The main prosecutor has already been found in contempt by the judge because he violated a publicity order when he spoke directly to the media in some interviews in an attempt to correct the record about an explosive story that really blew up the Internet a few months ago when the media was just running wild with some of the craziest headlines I've ever seen about the bullet fragment that was recovered from Charlie's body during the autopsy, and a report that came from the ATF saying that that fragment could not definitively be linked to the rifle that was allegedly used in the assassination. You guys may remember seeing some of this on social media, because it was actually insane. And I personally was just unbelievably pissed how completely biased the media was being when that just wasn't even objectively what the report said. You guys may remember when this happened, because the headlines were like the most atrocious, malicious journalism I have ever seen in my life. I personally was pissed reading every single one of them because they weren't even reporting on what the actual report said from the atf. I will always remember this one from pbs. Did a bullet analysis clear Charlie Kirk's suspected killer. Like, are you freaking kidding me? But that wasn't the only one. There were tons, tons of different headlines saying basically the same thing, and the media just started running wild back when this was initially reported claiming that all of this somehow exonerated Tyler Robinson from even being accused of being Charlie Kirk's assassin. But what they failed to mention in any of these inflammatory headlines was that that report from the ATF also said that the bullet fragment couldn't be excluded from linking it to the rifle allegedly used to kill Charlie. It was just too fragmented to definitively say, which happens all the time in autopsies like this, by the way. Which is why other evidence will be used and presented in this trial in an attempt to prove definitively that that rifle was used to kill Charlie. So when all of this was going crazy, the main prosecutor for this particular case, Christopher Ballard, spoke himself in several interviews to the media in an attempt to clear up all of the confusion, and he got in trouble with the court as a result. I've expressed this a few times before in various interviews that we've done here on the show and in conversations that I've had with a lot of my friends. But what's been really, really frustrating to me up to this point is how much of a media circus has already been made about this trial across the board before we've ever even gotten to jury selection, which, by the way, will not start next week. We are not there yet. I got jury duty just a couple of months ago for the very first time in my adult life, which I was actually super excited about. Weird. I know. I'm such a weird freaking person. But I am the daughter of two lawyers, and I grew up watching pretty much every great legal trial movie known to man, and I have always dreamed of sitting on a jury. My parents never get picked for jury duty because they're both lawyers, and I knew it was gonna be pretty unlikely that I would ever get picked for jury duty just based on what I do for a living, but you never know. So when I finally got the magic envelope in the mail, I was like, yes, this is my time to shine. I showed up with the whole jury pool that was potentially going to be selected. My priest was there waiting with me, which I was excited about. Love seeing your priest while waiting around for jury duty. And I got selected as part of the larger group to at least go in the courtroom and participate in voir dire, which is the process of questioning potential jurors to pick who you want to sit on your actual jury. This particular case that I was picked for was about domestic violence, and it was specifically about a brother who was repeatedly abusing his sister. He was a repeat offender, had previously had multiple criminal convictions for the same crime, and you were supposed to figure out if he was guilty again based on this potential new conviction that was on the table. And I will never forget sitting in that jury pool and getting asked all of these questions from prosecutors and the defense attorneys, especially about the media. They wanted to know as much as they possibly could from the jury about what we potentially had seen on TV about this case, if we had ever seen anything on social media about the defendant, if we even used social media at all regularly, because that may impact our ability to remain unbiased and impartial in hearing all of the evidence put before us in a trial. And on top of that, there were countless posters hung up all over the courtroom, inside the courtroom, saying that you were prohibited from using social media in any way, shape, or form to look up any facts about this case, to influence your opinion one way or another. And if you happened to accidentally see something on social media related to the defendant and this particular criminal trial, you were instructed to alert the judge immediately so that they could potentially swap you out with somebody in the larger juror pool or one of the alternates for the jury. That's how seriously they took this for something that most people had never heard of before, but happened to be a local story of interest in Northern Virginia, because they were that terrified of social media impacting your opinion of this guy one way or another, and therefore impacting the trial at large. And I remember once I got dismissed, of course, based on what I do for a living, I immediately picked up the phone and I called my mom and dad, and I just broke down in tears because I don't understand how it's even possible, before we've ever even gotten to jury selection in the world that we live in today that anyone in the potential juror pool for the Tyler Robinson trial doesn't already have some level of preconceived perception as to what happened on September 10th. And more likely than not, virtually anyone who even could be picked to participate in a jury related to Charlie Kirk's assassination is of course going to be influenced by everything happening on social media and on television. I don't think it is remotely possible that there is a single adult human being left in our country, regardless of what you do for a living, regardless of how often you're on social media, regardless of if you're homeless or not, who doesn't have some level of awareness related to what happened on September 10th. This was easily the most documented and the most controversial event of our generation. Period. Full stop. So like most people who knew and loved Charlie, I am terrified how much of this has already become so controversial before we've ever even selected a jury. It's a big week, and not just because this week kicks off the preliminary hearings for the Tyler Robinson trial, but also because it is approaching our 250th birthday on Saturday for July 4th. It's my favorite holiday every single year, but this year feels a little extra special. And this weekend, the incredible new film from Angel Studios, Young Washington, is hitting theaters for 4th of July. My family and I got a chance to see this movie a couple weeks ago for an advanced early screening and it blew all of my expectations out of the water. It covers a very short chapter of history from before the American Revolution of George Washington getting into military service in the French and Indian War and has an absolutely incredible team and cast behind it. John Irwin directed the film. Andy Serkis, who you may know as Gollum, is also in the film. And really, it feels like exactly the kind of movie that our culture desperately needs right now. It's true, it's bold, and it's incredibly proud of our country's history. They have an incredible offer for you. Instead of having to pay at the box office for movie tickets, you can spend just $15 a month to be a member of the Angel Guild, the community that decides which movies ever get made by Angel Studios. And that $15 per month price is knocked off 25% for the next 12 months, in which you also get two free tickets to the Young Washington movie and access to their entire streaming library that is full of some really amazing, awesome content. Go join the Angel Guild today. Check it out@angel.com brown to get two free tickets to see Young Washington coming out this weekend. The fact that Charlie's assassination happened on a college campus is incredibly tragic and something I still have a hard time wrapping my head around. But a college campus is where he always shone the brightest. And over the years, I've heard Charlie talk about a lot of different college campuses across the country. Some that he really loved, some that he really hated. But us being based in Phoenix, Arizona the past few years, I've heard Charlie say more positive things about this one university than almost any across the country, and that's Grand Canyon University. GCU is an affordable, private, Christian nonprofit university also based in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. And in a culture that says higher education is irrelevant or outdated, GCU is not just following the status quo, they're shattering it by actually preparing the next generation of adults to succeed and thrive in industry related jobs. They also believe education shouldn't just be a privilege, but should be affordable to everyone who wants to pursue it. Which is why they have not raised their tuition on their main campus for the past 17 years, virtually unheard of in higher ed, and in 2025 awarded more than $400 million in institutional scholarships to their students. Most importantly though, GCU is grounded in Christian truth and is preparing the next generation to lead with faith, with our values, and with integrity in a time where our culture needs it the most. So if you are looking for an incredible place to pursue your higher education, or you know someone else who is looking for a great college campus environment, go check out GCU Private Christian, Affordable Nonprofitcu.edu to learn more. The judge just in the last couple of days for the case announced that they are going to be allowing something called an expanded jury selection process, whatever that means, in allowing for additional juror questionnaires. So you have to ask a whole lot more questions to the jury and they have to answer a whole lot more things on paper before we ever select them. They will be allowing for more juror summons to expand into a wider pool so that you can eliminate more people theoretically. But here's the important kicker about all of that. No trial date has remotely been set at all for Tyler Robinson's trial. Which is important because although this next week is going to be wildly interesting and the first major hearing, preliminarily in this entire process, certainly the largest presentation of evidence up to this point in the entire process, this hearing starting on Monday, July 6, is not the beginning of a trial and is not the preliminary process of selecting the jury who will ultimately decide the fate of Tyler Robinson. That said, why I will be Watching next week and frankly, why you, if you have any interest in this case, should be watching next week is this Everything presented in these preliminary hearings will determine if the prosecution even has enough evidence for the case to move forward to trial at all. And unlike in a trial where there are very specific rules of evidence and what can and how it can be presented to the jury during a preliminary hearing, hearsay testimony will be allowed to be presented as evidence for why this case deserves to move forward to trial. That matters because this allows the prosecution to even include a video testimony that they are planning on playing. They have alerted the court of this from Lance Twigs, who is the trans boyfriend situation of Tyler Robinson and was the first, first person that Tyler did confess to killing Charlie Kirk to in writing, in a text message rather than having to put him on the witness stand and make him face cross examination from the defense. During the preliminary hearing, the prosecutors have obtained a video statement from Lance Twigs that they plan on playing as to why this case deserves to move forward to trial. This is a really big deal because the prosecution has said that Lance Twiggs is unable to testify in person for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is because he was moved out of state and briefly placed under FBI protective custody based on the high nature of the trial right away after all of this happened in September, the guy virtually vanished. And people have been speculating where he is ever since. But it's been rumored for a really long time that he has agreed to testify on behalf of the prosecution against Tyler Robinson. As, by the way, allegedly. We'll wait to find out, but allegedly have Tyler's parents agreed to testify on behalf of the prosecution against their son? And if you remember how all of this went down about nine months ago, it was Tyler's parents who initially turned him into police officers during the search for Charlie's assassin. Next week we'll also be the very first time that Charlie's immediate family, his wife, now widow Erica Kirk, and his parents will be inside the courtroom with the man accused of killing Charlie. Though they haven't indicated that they'll make any sort of public statement next week while in Utah. Just the visual impact for those of us who know and love the Kirk family is pretty heavy and something that I will never forget seeing. Once this happens next week, all of that is happening, no matter what, come Monday, July 6th. But something to keep an eye on in the next few days is that this week there could be a significant delay for an actual trial start date reminder, this is not a trial happening next week. These are the preliminary hearings on whether a trial should happen in the first place. And the reason for that is because the Utah Supreme Court is actually taking a look at an appeal that was submitted from Tyler's defense attorneys about the cameras being present in the courtroom. Obviously, the defense does not want cameras put in the courtroom based on their perceived ability to protect Tyler and his image. But as we also know, this was already something that Judge Tony Graf has said is really important to keep the cameras in the courtroom room because of the high public interest in this trial. The last major thing you need to know going into all of this is this. Although Tyler Robinson faces a myriad of various charges, including that really serious one of aggravated murder that could land him the death penalty if he is found guilty, Tyler has not yet entered a plea, meaning he has not definitively told the court whether he finds himself to be guilty or not guilty. And obviously that's going to impact a whole lot when it comes to how the jury perceives Tyler inside the courtroom if this goes to trial. It's really hard, I think, for me and for so many people to talk about this without a lot of emotion, because yes, this is a huge case of public interest. It is certainly on par with the O.J. simpson trial, probably even more important as probably the most interesting media related legal case of all time in American history. But it's also about justice for my friend. And it's still incredibly surreal that we're even talking about this in the realm of Charlie's assassin, Charlie's assassination, Charlie being killed, Charlie's widow. I don't know that that's ever really going to feel real. But I do think trial and some sort of definitive declaration of justice is at the very least going to help all of us who know and love Charlie to process the information a little bit more seriously. My one ask of all of you as we get this process started on Monday is pretty simple. Yes, there is a lot of clickbait, crazy, low hanging fruit virality related to Tyler Robinson and Charlie's trial happening on the Internet right now, yes, it's very tempting to click on and participate in and comment on and amplify. Don't buy into it. Because if we want any sort of legitimate justice for Charlie whatsoever, it has to start with the presentation of actual evidence in a courtroom and the proceeding of the process of law ending in a criminal conviction for the person who was deranged enough to take my friend's life, not from a podcast episode that's going to get 30 million views because someone said something mean and inflammatory. It's not nearly as fun. It's not nearly as sexy. It takes a whole lot longer than an hour podcast episode to see a criminal trial play out all the way through. And it may be several more months or even upwards of a year before we actually get a definitive criminal conviction based on all of this. But if nothing else, next week in these preliminary hearings, have an open mind. Listen to the evidence that is presented before you, because it's the first time we're going to see all of this evidence laid out on the table. And it may or may not impact your point of view, but only if you're willing to hear it. Do you think cameras still belong in the courtroom with Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson? And will you be watching the preliminary hearings and eventually the trial? Let us know in the comments. And please continue to pray for Charlie's family, his beautiful wife, Erica, and his two beautiful children, and his parents as they continue navigating this horrific tragedy and trying to come to grips with the fact that this all really did happen.