Tyler Robinson pleaded not guilty to all seven charges in the killing of Charlie Kirk, and a judge cleared the case for trial — a setup that leaves the prosecution with a hard job and the public with more questions than answers.

• The alleged confessions came from a phone and a Discord account, and proving Robinson was the one holding the device is a much higher bar than showing the messages exist.
• Prosecutors have to place him on the roof with the weapon in his hand, but the released footage is blurry and does not follow him the whole way.
• Lance Twigs has immunity, which normally means someone did something wrong — the defense will hammer that at trial.
• George Zen, the older man who shouted that he did it, reportedly said he acted to help the real shooter get away, which points to a plan made before the event rather than a moment of panic.
• The state is charging aggravated murder, a death-penalty count that is unusual for a single shot fired at one person.

Outlook: A pre-trial conference is set for late October, with months of motions and evidence fights before any trial date — and a plea deal to take death off the table would end the case without the public ever learning what happened.