Charlie Kirk murder: Suspect Tyler Robinson’s lawyers want death penalty removed due to prosecutor's comments
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in 4th District Court on June 12, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Francisco Kjolseth-Pool/Getty Images)
Lawyers for Charlie Kirk murder suspect Tyler Robinson are asking Utah Judge Tony Graf to block the death penalty in the case, claiming the prosecutors’ comments to the media about a bullet fragment recovered from the conservative activist’s body could sway potential jurors regarding his guilt.
Robinson's team argued in a filing Thursday that it would be an appropriate sanction after prosecutors talked about the case outside of court, and violated a gag order.
"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," reads the filing, signed by defense attorneys Kathryn Nester, Richard Novak, Michael Burt and Staci Visser.
Representatives of the Utah County Attorney’s Office have countered that they did not violate the gag order or any other court rules when they "set the record straight" after what they call a misleading statement from a defense filing led to viral news coverage suggesting that the US Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) could not match the bullet that killed Charlie Kirk to the suspected murder weapon, Robinson's grandfather's rifle, describing the tool mark analysis as inconclusive, according to court records. But the caliber was consistent, and a spent casing was also a match.
Judge Graf says he will rule Monday whether prosecutors could face sanctions for comments to the media.
Booking photos for Tyler Robinson, 22, the suspect in the Utah assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. (Utah Gov. Spencer Cox)
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The backstory:
Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder for the killing of Kirk. Kirk was speaking to a crowd of about 3,000 people on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem when investigators say Robinson fired a single shot from a building about 140 yards away, striking Kirk, 31, and killing him.
Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by FOX News and The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.