Defense attorneys for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk are trying to block Utah prosecutors from introducing graphic videos of the shooting. They also want a judge to oust cameras from the courtroom to shield prospective jurors from bias.<\/b>
\nGraphic videos showing the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk while he spoke to a crowd on a Utah college campus quickly went viral, drawing millions of views.
Now, attorneys for the man charged in Kirk\u2019s killing want a state judge to block such videos from being shown during a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Defense attorneys also want to oust TV and still cameras from the courtroom, arguing that \u201chighly biased\u201d news outlets risk tainting the case.
Prosecutors and attorneys for news organizations urged state District Judge Tony Graf to keep the proceedings open. But legal experts say the defense team\u2019s worries are real: Media coverage in high-profile cases such as Tyler Robinson\u2019s can have a direct \u201cbiasing effect\u201d on potential jurors, said Cornell Law School Professor Valerie Hans.
\u201cThere were videos about the killing, and pictures and analysis (and) the entire saga of how this particular defendant came to turn himself in,\u201d said Hans, a leading expert on the jury system. \u201cWhen jurors come to a trial with this kind of background information from the media, it shapes how they see the evidence that is presented in the courtroom.\u201d
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Robinson, 22, who is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem. An estimated 3,000 people attended the outdoor rally to hear Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA, who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump.
To secure a death sentence in Utah, prosecutors must demonstrate aggravating circumstances, such as that the crime was especially heinous or atrocious. That\u2019s where the graphic videos could come into play.
Watching those videos might make people think, \u201c\u2018Yeah, this was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel,\u2019\u201d Hans said.
Further complicating efforts to ensure a fair trial is the political rhetoric swirling around Kirk, stemming from the role his organization played in Trump\u2019s 2024 election. Even before Robinson\u2019s arrest, people had jumped to conclusions about who the shooter could be and what kind of politics he espoused, said University of Utah law professor Teneille Brown.
\u201cPeople are just projecting a lot of their own sense of what they think was going on, and that really creates concerns about whether they can be open to hearing the actual evidence that\u2019s presented,\u201d she said.
Robinson\u2019s attorneys have ramped up claims of bias as the case has advanced, even accusing news outlets of using lip readers to deduce what the defendant is whispering to his attorneys during court hearings.
Fueling those concerns was a television camera operator who zoomed in on Robinson\u2019s face as he talked to his attorneys during a Jan. 16 hearing. That violated courtroom orders, prompting the judge to stop filming of Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.
\u201cRather than being a beacon for truth and openness, the News Media have simply become a financial investor in this case,\u201d defense attorneys wrote in a request for the court to seal some of their accusations of media bias. Unsealing those records, they added, \u201cwill simply generate even more views of the offending coverage, and more revenue for the News Media.\u201d
Prosecutors acknowledged the intense public interest surrounding the case but said that does not permit the court to compromise on openness. They said the need for transparency transcends Robinson\u2019s case.
\u201cThis case arose, and will remain, in the public eye. That reality favors greater transparency of case proceedings, not less,\u201d Utah County prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Defense attorneys are seeking to disqualify local prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot. The defense alleges that the relationship represents a conflict of interest.
In response, prosecutors said in a court filing that they could present videos at Tuesday\u2019s hearing to demonstrate that the daughter was not a necessary witness since numerous other people recorded the shooting.
Among the videos, prosecutors wrote, is one that shows the bullet hitting Kirk, blood coming from his neck and Kirk falling from his chair.<\/p>\n