Tyler Robinson defense seeks delays, fights cameras in Utah court
Legal clashes are escalating in Utah as attorneys for Tyler Robinson move to restrict evidence and push back the murder trial tied to Charlie Kirk’s death, while prosecutors signal they intend to pursue capital punishment. In a separate case, the parents of Karmelo Anthony are contesting his Texas murder conviction, arguing the jury process was unfair. The segment also examines mounting concerns over parental rights and Virginia school gender policies, an issue now drawing attention in a congressional hearing.
Defense attorneys for Tyler Robinson are urging a Utah judge to throw out prosecutors’ most recent filing, which opposes their request to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment over alleged gag order violations.
In a filing submitted Thursday, Robinson’s legal team said striking the death penalty notice would be a fitting response after prosecutors made public comments about the case outside the courtroom.
“The only way that this Court can demonstrate that its orders, and the ethical rules that counsel must obey, are not optional when it comes to the State’s attorneys, even in this case, is to impose the sanction undersigned counsel have urged upon this Court: striking the State’s death notice,” the filing states. It was signed by defense attorneys Kathryn Nester, Richard Novak, Michael Burt and Staci Visser.
Prosecutors deny breaching the gag order or violating court rules, saying they acted only to “set the record straight” after what they described as a misleading defense filing fueled widespread coverage suggesting the ATF could not link the bullet that killed Charlie Kirk to the suspected murder weapon — a rifle belonging to Robinson’s grandfather.
Tyler Robinson is charged with fatally shooting Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk during a public speaking event at Utah Valley University in September. (Bethany Baker/Pool via REUTERS, Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Court records show the ATF was unable to either identify or rule out Robinson’s grandfather’s rifle as the source of the bullet fragment recovered from Kirk, calling the tool mark analysis inconclusive. However, investigators said the caliber was consistent, and a spent casing was matched to the firearm.
Prosecutors have stated they will seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted of assassinating Kirk at a Turning Point USA event held at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.
The back-and-forth has evolved into a war of words, with prosecutors accusing the defense of releasing misleading information through court filings, and the defense accusing prosecutors of “hubris” when responding in a string of media interviews they claim violate a gag order.
Tyler Robinson appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, on Dec. 11, 2025. He is accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune)
Robinson’s lawyers want the prosecution’s written opposition stricken because the judge didn’t specifically ask for it. During a hearing Friday, the court directed parties to address the defense’s allegations of contempt and the potential consequences for it orally — but didn’t ask the sides to file written briefs, Robinson’s lawyers wrote.
Prosecutors also didn’t coordinate with the defense before submitting their objection earlier this week, they argued.
The defense wants prosecutors punished for speaking about the case outside the courtroom — and Robinson’s lawyers are arguing that taking the potential death penalty off the table as a result would be an appropriate response.
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Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard and Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride appear in 4th District Court in Provo during a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, on May 19, 2026. (Trent Nelson/Pool)
Prosecutors say that would be an overreaction.
“A reduction in the aggravated-murder charge from a capital felony to a first-degree felony is dramatically disproportionate to the alleged misconduct,” wrote Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride.
Neither the gag order on Robinson’s case nor state court rules prohibited prosecutors from correcting what they saw as the defense’s misleading court filing, he argued.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, tosses hats to a crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025, shortly before he was shot and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
State law “expressly allows attorneys to make ‘statements that a reasonable lawyer would believe is required to protect a client from the substantial undue prejudicial effect of recent publicity not initiated by the lawyer,'” he wrote.
Prosecutors have denied wrongdoing and insist they were allowed to “set the record straight.”
The claim, which prosecutor Christopher Ballard described as misleading and “misstated,” generated millions of views from just one report — and inspired additional coverage in local and national media.
It also boosted unverified claims that other people could have been responsible for Kirk’s murder.
But the defense left out a crucial piece of context, according to Ballard, in another filing.
“The ATF was unable to identify or exclude the bullet as having been fired from the rifle,” he wrote, emphasizing the missing information in italics.
“Defendant reinforced this misleading inference by following it up with, ‘the defense may very well decide to offer the testimony of the ATF firearm analyst as exculpatory evidence,'” he added.
Judge Tony Graf Jr. is expected to announce his decision on the matter in a virtual hearing Monday.
