successfully.

Attorneys for the media and for Kirk's widow, Erika, who has attended this week's hearing, had urged the judge to make Twiggs' statements and other evidence public.

 To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system,  Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman told Graf Wednesday.

Neiman filed a request late Wednesday for all evidence against Robinson to be displayed openly and in real time during this week's hearing. Neiman wrote that Erika Kirk and Kirk's parents had waited 10 months for the hearing but at times have been denied the chance  to meaningfully observe  it.

The judge said in response that not all evidence would be openly displayed and he needs to protect the rights of both victims and the defendant.

Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once through the neck as the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.

Investigators found the suspected murder weapon - a bolt-action rifle with one spent round - wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.

Robinson has sat quietly through the hearing. On Thursday, he was dressed in a jacket and tie with one arm shackled to his waist. He appeared to be taking notes with his free hand.

Robinson's parents and two of his brothers sat behind him, in the front row of the courtroom gallery. Charlie's Kirk parents and Erika Kirk sat a few rows back. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, also was in attendance.

Robinson's lawyers earlier this week questioned the reliability of DNA testing used to link the defendant to the towel and gun.

A member of Tyler Robinson's defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to the evidence. Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst's conclusions.

 She can't match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,  Burt argued.

But forensics expert Lawrence Quarino said law enforcement agencies use  extremely reliable  tests to determine the probability that a person matches with DNA found at a crime scene.

DNA testing  is the gold standard in forensic science,  said Quarino, a professor and director of the forensic science program at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania.