Attorneys for the man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk last September want to delay a court hearing for six months to review evidence relating to DNA found on the alleged murder weapon.

Tyler Robinson’s legal team has asked Judge Tony Graf in Utah to delay a preliminary hearing scheduled for May, as they need more time to prepare and analyze the evidence they have received. The hearing will essentially be a mini-trial of the man accused of the Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.

One of the biggest pieces of evidence they’re waiting on is DNA evidence related to the firearm allegedly used in the attack. Investigators found a decades-old German-made bolt-action rifle built for use in two World Wars, in a wooded area near the scene of the shooting.

Kirk, an influential conservative podcaster and activist, was fatally shot while answering questions from the crowd at an outdoor event as part of a national tour for Turning Point USA.

In a court filing, Robinson’s attorneys said they were provided with an “ATF Summary Report,” which they say indicates “that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied” to their client.

Robinson’s attorneys said they have not been able to review the ATF case file associated with that summary report, nor have they been able to review the protocols related to the examination of the bullet fragment found during the autopsy. The court filing also said a secondary comparative bullet analysis by the FBI is underway, but not yet complete.

“Until the defense receives the case files and protocols relating to these analyses, and has them independently evaluated by its expert, they will not be in a position to assess the reliability of this evidence if either the State or the defense decides to proffer it,” the filing says.

Depending on what they find out from that evidence, Robinson’s attorneys say, “the defense may very well decide to offer the testimony of the ATF firearm analyst as exculpatory evidence.”

The court filing said the attorneys expect an initial review of the digital evidence to take 60 days to determine what is missing, so they will be ready for the hearing. Defense lawyers also say they received a hard drive earlier this month that included 31 hours of audio files, 700 hours of video files, and 600,000 data files.

“The defense team has devoted, and will continue to devote, significant resources to processing discovery, including identifying materials not yet received to inform readiness for the preliminary hearing. However, the defense team is realistic, and the comprehensive review required to determine what is missing will take hundreds of hours,” the court filing says.