Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in September 2025, was dealt a procedural blow on Friday when Judge Tony Graf Jr. ruled against the defense’s motion to restrict access to certain court filings ahead of an upcoming evidentiary hearing.
“In balance, the defendant has not provided a sufficient basis for the court to find that the interests favoring closure outweigh the interest favoring an open proceeding and the presumptive right to access,” Judge Graf said Friday.
“Moreover, as a Utah Supreme Court recognized, even in highly publicized cases, a defendant’s right to a fair trial can be protected through the regular time-honored process for selecting jurors, like enlarging the voir dire of potential jurors, utilizing a detailed juror questionnaire and conducting a thorough voir dire of potential jurors.”
Additionally, Judge Graf denied the defense team’s motion to ban cameras from the courtroom during Robinson’s hearing, but added Robinson’s defense must file a redacted version of the motion to exclude cameras by March 30.
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Earlier in the hearing, Robinson’s attorneys had argued their motion to keep certain evidence out of the public’s view, citing the potential inability to select an impartial jury in the high-profile case.
“So what we’re talking about is releasing preliminary evidence into the public sphere that has the potential to impact jurors,” defense attorney Staci Visser said. “And it is important enough that we are concerned that it will sway people’s opinions one way or the other.”
“I want to make clear that our concern here is with selecting an impartial jury,” Visser added. “Really it goes both ways. Whether the evidence is good for my client or bad for my client, whatever it is, it makes it harder to find impartial jurors if they are entrenched in an opinion about our client’s guilt or innocence either way.”
Robinson, 22, faces a potential death penalty if convicted of killing Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
He appeared in court wearing a blue dress shirt and tie, and could be seen occasionally taking notes during Friday’s hearing.
“Specifically, Mr. Robinson seeks to take evidence in a closed setting regarding the unfairly prejudicial and misleading media coverage and the improper statements of government officials in order to avoid republicizing the same. Mr. Robinson also asks this court to take evidence regarding the privacy violations detailed in the ‘motion to exclude cameras’ in a closed setting, to, again, avoid reiterating the violative material,” according to defense filings.
Robinson’s defense team is also seeking to ban cameras and microphones, arguing media coverage could prejudice a jury.
The defense team also asked to close portions of the April 17 hearing to the media, arguing prejudicial media coverage interferes with Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
“We’ll show both that we have categories of prejudice that are recognized as presumptively prejudicial, and we’ll show that beyond that, the overall picture of this case is one of extreme prejudicial pretrial publicity that justifies the kind of relief we’re asking for,” defense attorney Michael Burt said.
At the April 17 hearing, the defense team plans to showcase evidence regarding “harmful and prejudicial media coverage of this case thus far,” the defense said.
“While there is simply not enough time to present all of what is referenced in the ‘motion to exclude cameras,’ the compilation anticipated will highlight the most egregious and most concerning media coverage impacting Mr. Robinson’s case.”
However, the prosecution looked to hit back at the defense teams’ motion to restrict media access in Robinson’s pretrial hearings while asserting the public’s right to knowledge in the case.
“We are not media lawyers, we are not representing the interests of the media,” Utah County Attorney’s Office general counsel Christopher Ballard said. “Our client is the people of the state of Utah who do have an interest in the public nature of these proceedings. But whether any particular document in this case is public or private is really of secondary concern to the state here. We’re not trying to represent any kind of media interest, and I think it’s improper for the defense to suggest that.”
Previously at Robinson’s Feb. 24 hearing, Graf denied the motion to disqualify the Utah County Attorney’s Office.
The defense team argued there was a conflict of interest because a prosecutor’s daughter was present at the shooting at UVU.
Graf, however, said the court was “unpersuaded” by the argument of an “appearance of bias” from the prosecution team.
“Because defendant has not established a factual basis for a finding of conflict of interest or an objective appearance of impropriety, rising to a constitutional concern, his motion is respectfully denied,” Graf said.
The next hearing on April 17 will address the defense’s motion to exclude all cameras from the courtroom, and a preliminary hearing is set for May 18-20.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz, Stepheny Price, Julia Bonavita, Peter D’Abrosca and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
