{"id":2627553,"date":"2026-07-09T20:01:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T00:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T20:01:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T00:01:57","slug":"new-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief\/","title":{"rendered":"Testimony Builds Case Kirk Was Assassinated For Christian Belief"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnew-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2627553&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-issues-multiple-corrections-for-article-falsely-claiming-900000-u-s-children-have-been-hospitalized-for-covid-19-during-pandemic\/\" title=\"New York Times Issues Multiple Corrections For Article Falsely Claiming 900,000 U.S. Children Have Been Hospitalized For COVID-19 During Pandemic\">article discusses<\/a> the recent courtroom proceedings related to the case of Charlie Kirk&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/independent-outlet-claims-putin-regime-tried-to-censor-zelensky-interview\/\" title=\"Independent Outlet Claims Putin Regime Tried to Censor Zelensky Interview\">alleged assassination attempt<\/a>. Judge Tony graf admitted a three-page testimony from Charlie Kirk\u2019s friend and TPUSA board member, david Engelhardt, outlining Kirk\u2019s religious beliefs on marriage, family, gender, and sexuality based on biblical scriptures. Defense attorney Richard Novak challenged the relevance of this testimony, arguing the case isn&#8217;t about religion, but the judge permitted its admission, considering it relevant to proving victim targeting based on Kirk\u2019s political beliefs. The prosecution aims to demonstrate that Tyler Robinson murdered Kirk out of hatred for his political expression, which could lead to increased sentencing under Utah law. The court examined documents related to Kirk\u2019s political and religious motivations, with some debate over their relevance, but ultimately the evidence was admitted to support the enhancement of Robinson\u2019s potential punishment. The case continues to revolve around whether the motive was politically driven, impacting the severity of the sentencing.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/gageskidmore\/54618439910\/in\/photostream\/\">gage skidmore\/flickr<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">cc by-sa 4.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/new-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=New Testimony Builds Case That Charlie Kirk Was Assassinated For Christian Belief&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/new-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=New Testimony Builds Case That Charlie Kirk Was Assassinated For Christian Belief&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/new-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/new-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=New Testimony Builds Case That Charlie Kirk Was Assassinated For Christian Belief&#038;body=Because Graf ruled that the document is admissible, he bolstered the prosecution&#039;s case for the victim-targeting enhancement, which could increase Robinson&#039;s punishment if he is found guilty.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/new-testimony-builds-case-that-charlie-kirk-was-assassinated-for-christian-belief\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;New Testimony Builds Case That Charlie Kirk Was Assassinated For Christian Belief&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Judge Tony Graf\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rules-against-amnesty-for-illegal-immigrants-with-temporary-protected-status\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Rules Against Amnesty For Illegal Immigrants With Temporary Protected Status\">fully admitted<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BreccanFThies\/status\/2075307314991542497\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">now-released three-page testimony<\/a> on Charlie Kirk\u2019s religious beliefs by pastor, TPUSA board member, and friend of Charlie Kirk, David Engelhardt, on July 9. The statement details Kirk\u2019s \u201corthodox-Christian position on marriage, family, gender, and sexual being, which find their basis in various Biblical scriptures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense attorney Richard Novak disputed the admission for more than 30 minutes on the second day of the preliminary hearings because the document does not reveal accused assassin Tyler Robinson\u2019s views on Kirk and \u201cthis is not a case about religion.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3521399808\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, because Graf ruled that the document is admissible as evidence for Kirk\u2019s political beliefs, he bolstered the prosecution\u2019s case for the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >victim-targeting enhancement<\/a>, which could increase Robinson\u2019s punishment if he is found guilty.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"qci958n4uXUPmoRIQjKyh\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Engelhardt testimony:<\/p>\n<p>1)As noted in Turning Point USA\u2019s filings with the Internal Revenue Service, Turning Point USA is organized and operated exclusively for educational and charitable purposes in accordance with section 501(c)(3), to empower informed civic and cultural\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breccan F. Thies (@BreccanFThies) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BreccanFThies\/status\/2075307314991542497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prosecution hopes to increase Robinson\u2019s punishment by proving the assassination was motivated by hatred of Kirk\u2019s \u201cpolitical expression.\u201d If the prosecution can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Robinson killed Kirk for his political views, then under<a href=\"https:\/\/le.utah.gov\/xcode\/Title76\/Chapter3\/76-3-S203.14.html?v=C76-3-S203.14_2019051420190514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Utah Code \u00a7 76-3-203.14<\/a>, the state allows for a sentence to be \u201cenhanced\u201d or increased because a victim was targeted for his political beliefs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Novak told Graf that he does not believe the document is \u201crelevant\u201d to the enhancement and told the court, \u201cI didn\u2019t bring the Bible to this courtroom. The state brought it.\u201d Graf initially chose to provisionally admit the document because \u201cit is relevant as it relates to the victim targeting enhancement [since] it relates to Charlie Kirk\u2019s political expression,\u201d and he fully admitted and published the exhibit Thursday. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"YteJn0f0X1PiIGNgQJCdvpXRL3HW2WqOGQ9Atu7Z4ymBzYZSkn2qPCDV3881HTrswBvlMMbr6E\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Lack of audio was due to the admission of an exhibit considered Tuesday and provisionally admitted \u2014 that of Pastor David Engelhardt, which is a statement of political and religious beliefs, motivations, and mission of TPUSA, Charlie KIRK, etc.<\/p>\n<p>STATE is using this to lay the\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breccan F. Thies (@BreccanFThies) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BreccanFThies\/status\/2075284376682627219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Hannah Bates<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/hannahbates\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/assassination\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">assassination<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bible\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Bible<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/charlie-kirk\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Charlie Kirk<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/christianity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Christianity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/conservative\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Conservative<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/david-engelhardt\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">David Engelhardt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/evidence\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">evidence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/increased-sentence\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">increased sentence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/murder-trial\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Murder trial<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/political-bias\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">political bias<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/punishment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">punishment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/religious-beliefs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Religious Beliefs<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/testimony\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Testimony<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tony-graf\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Tony Graf<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trial\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">trial<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tyler-robinson\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Tyler Robinson<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/utah\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Utah<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/victim-targeting-enhancement\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">victim-targeting enhancement<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Judge admits religious beliefs testimony in Kirk case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4304,"featured_media":2627554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-Untitled-2026-07-09T184857.906.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[6286,41666,10384,8676],"class_list":["post-2627553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-assassination","tag-christian-faith","tag-kirk","tag-testimony"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-Untitled-2026-07-09T184857.906.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4304"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2627553"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2627557,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627553\/revisions\/2627557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2627554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2627553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2627553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2627553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}