Update • Watch: Surveillance videos played in Charlie Kirk killing case, after Tyler Robinson’s lawyers tried to keep them out

Provo • The crack of the rifle shot that killed Charlie Kirk and the screams that followed were heard in a Provo courtroom Monday — but the judge barred those in the courtroom from seeing video of the shooting, saying Kirk and his family deserved “respect and dignity.”

Instead, 4th District Judge Tony Graf watched the footage himself from multiple angles — including videos recorded by a spectator, by Turning Point USA and by Utah Valley University security cameras — while audio was played in court.

Kirk’s parents and his widow, Erika Kirk, quietly left the courtroom before a police officer began testifying about what the videos showed. Also in the courtroom Monday was Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina, who stayed in the packed courtroom as the judge watched the graphic videos.

Monday was the first day of a weeklong preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Kirk. He faces multiple charges, including aggravated murder, and prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted.

Erika Kirk dabbed tears from her eyes before the beginning of Monday’s hearing, where testimony has largely centered around the layout of Utah Valley University’s campus, the moment when Kirk was shot — and what police did afterward to try to find his killer.

Former UVU police officer Chris Bagley testified on Monday that thousands of people had come to the Turning Point USA event on the Utah college campus, and after the shot was fired, the rally turned to chaos. He said he heard on the police radio that authorities had quickly captured a potential suspect in the crowd — which later turned out to be a man who was not involved.

Bagley said he remembered hearing a shot that sounded like a rifle, and while standing at ground level, he realized there was a line of sight from a campus building called the Losee Center to where Kirk had been sitting under a white event tent.

Bagley said he then went to the Losee Center rooftop, and saw what he described as a “sniper pad” — an impression of someone laying down that had been left on the loose gravel that covered the roof of the building.

[Watch a video of Officer Chris Bagley’s testimony. Includes descriptions of violence.]

Later on Monday, David Hull — who worked as a Utah Bureau of Investigations agent at the time of shooting — testified that he had viewed security footage which allegedly showed Robinson coming to and from campus four times on Sept. 10 and the early morning hours of Sept. 11. The judge, however, would not allow that evidence to be admitted because prosecutors had altered it by zooming in at places or drawing red circles around items of interest.

Prosecutors indicated they would try to show the videos on Tuesday without edits.

It has been a slow start to the hearing so far, with prosecutors largely establishing the layout of UVU’s campus and showing evidence that Kirk had been shot — including a report where a medical examiner found that he died from a gunshot wound to the neck.

By Monday afternoon, they had only started to present evidence that they say ties Robinson to the crime.

Their presentation of evidence will continue through the week. The preliminary hearing is being livestreamed.

Security at the courthouse was tight Monday as the Kirks and Trumps arrived, while Robinson was transported from the Utah County jail in an armored vehicle. Courtroom seating was limited, and the public began lining up at 1 a.m. Monday morning to get a seat.

Ahead of the hearing, Kirk’s family — including his parents, Robert and Kathryn; his sister, Mary; and widow Erika Kirk — released a statement saying: “Charlie was a beloved husband, son, brother, friend, and father. Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children.”

“We remain deeply grateful for the support, prayers, and kindness we have received,” the statement continued. “This outpouring has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.”

The family members said they would not make any further public comments “out of respect for the judicial process,” and asked for privacy as they navigated the court process and their grief.

A preliminary hearing is not a trial, and the burden of proof is much lower: Graf needs only to determine that there is “probable cause” that Robinson likely committed a crime, compared to the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that jurors must find in a trial.

Graf must also view all of the preliminary hearing evidence in the light most favorable to the state.

Robinson will enter a plea to the charges once Graf determines whether there is probable cause for the case to move forward. A trial date has not been set.