- Tyler Robinson, charged with aggravated murder in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, appeared Friday in court for an evidentiary hearing over an alleged prosecutorial conflict of interest.
- The defense argued a prosecutor should be disqualified because his daughter was near the shooting, but Judge Tony Graf found insufficient evidence to move the case and allowed witness testimony to proceed.
- Graf ordered a prior closed hearing transcript to be made public, rejected a full media ban, and scheduled further conflict-of-interest testimony for Feb. 3.
The man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court in person on Friday afternoon as the first evidentiary hearing was held over a potential conflict of interest.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged on Sept. 16 with aggravated murder, five other felonies and a misdemeanor, after Kirk was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Joined by family members, Robinson’s parents sat in the courtroom as their son entered the room. As Robinson walked past, he looked at them and quietly said hello.
Does a prosecutor in Tyler Robinson’s case have a conflict of interest?
Robinson’s defense team alleged that a prosecutor’s daughter was 85 feet from Kirk when he was shot. The daughter, who is a student at UVU, left her backpack and fled the event with the other 3,000 people in attendance.
The prosecutor and the prosecutor’s daughter were not identified by name.
The defense asked that the prosecution be moved under the jurisdiction of a different county, but 4th District Judge Tony Graf ruled there was not sufficient evidence yet to warrant the move.
Instead the judge allowed the defense to begin examining witnesses in relation to the conflict of interest. During a court recess, four hours into the hearing, defense attorney Kathryn Nester approached Robinson’s family and gave one of them a small chocolate bar.
Ahead of the witnesses’ remarks, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said the conflict of interest allegation is “an ambush and another stalling tactic to delay these proceedings.” The prosecution also argued the allegation could be “a tactic” to find a “more lenient and favorable prosecuting authority.”
The Utah County Attorney’s Office had informally told the defense about a prosecutor’s child witnessing Kirk’s assassination, defense attorney Richard Novak said. “We didn’t grab onto some piece of discovery as a wedge, a tactic.” He continued, “We think it is, and we intend to litigate it.”
From the witness stand, Gray told Novak he had been with the prosecutor in question when the shooting happened on Sept. 10. Gray also said that Prosecutor A is a member of his executive team, and they’ve known each other since Gray assumed his position three years ago.
More witnesses related to the conflict of interest allegation are scheduled to appear on Feb. 3, the next hearing.
Judge Graf denies request to keep previous hearing private
On Jan. 9, the court convened in a closed hearing to discuss the prosecutor’s potential conflict of interest.
Although the prosecution asked to keep the hearing private to protect the prosecutor’s daughter, Graf ruled that the transcript should be made public in the next two or three weeks.
“It seems inappropriate to create a safeguard to prevent you from making a mistake on accidentally saying a name,” Graf said.
The prosecution attorney said they’ve received death threats, as have their witnesses. “Doxing is a real thing, you know,” a prosecutor said.
On behalf of the Deseret News and KSL, attorney Jeff Hunt said the closed hearing “should be the rare exception.” Given that the hearing concerned “a family relationship of the prosecutor, it makes it a very extraordinary and unique situation,” he said.
Defense asks for a ban on cameras
The defense asked Graf to issue a total ban of cameras from the courtroom or prohibit any footage or photography of Robinson, after they showed him five- and nine-second video segments allegedly violating the court’s decorum order.
Graf found that both segments, filmed by the pool photographer, violated the court’s media restriction since they focused on Robinson’s lips. However, Graf found that the defense’s requested sanctions were disproportionately harsh.
The court’s actions are ”not meant to have a chilling effect” on media coverage, he said. The judge ruled that for the remainder of the hearing Robinson not be filmed.
When will Tyler Robinson next appear in court?
Robinson is expected to appear in person for all future hearings, which are slated to take place in Utah’s 4th District Court in Provo. The next hearing will be held Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. A potential preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 18 to 21.