Trump Says the Judge in the Charlie Kirk Case Is 'Desecrating' His Memory After the Defense Floats a 2029 Trial

President Trump went after the Utah judge handling the Charlie Kirk assassination case on Friday, Fox News reports, saying he is doing a "terrible job."

The post. On Truth Social, Trump wrote: "This case should be tried within a month, not three years, and it should be over with! The judge is desecrating the memory of the Great Charlie Kirk, while taking forever to ask questions that people already know the answer to. The whole Country is mocking him and our 'Legal' System. JUSTICE FOR CHARLIE!" He did not name the judge. Fox identifies the judge as Tony Graf.

What set it off. Tyler Robinson's defense team proposed a tentative trial start in the third quarter of 2029. In a filing, the lawyers cited a large volume of unreviewed evidence and the work of picking a jury, and argued a firm date now would create "false precision." Because prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, they wrote, "death is different," and they warned a rushed schedule could jeopardize a reliable capital proceeding.

The other side. Prosecutors say they expect to be ready for trial by Oct. 4, 2027. Erika Kirk asked the court for the earliest practicable date in 2027 and called the defense timeline "grossly out of line" with comparable cases. Her filing noted that her two children, then three and one, would be seven and five by a verdict under the defense plan. Former federal prosecutor Fred Tecce told Fox the 2029 request looks like a delay tactic: "It is the job of a defense lawyer to delay and obfuscate."

Note for readers: Robinson is accused of aggravated murder and a firearm charge and has not been convicted. Fox's report says he was due in court Friday afternoon; we covered that hearing, which ended without a trial date, in an earlier story. The defense's reasons come from its filing as quoted by Fox.