Utah judge finds prosecutors in contempt in Charlie Kirk case
Judge Tony Graf said public comments by prosecutors risked prejudicing the murder case against Tyler Robinson, but kept the death penalty available.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
A Utah judge found prosecutors in contempt of court Friday over public comments in the murder case against Tyler Robinson, who is accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The ruling matters because Robinson’s lawyers had asked the court to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty as punishment for the violation.
Judge Tony Graf said statements made to news outlets by Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard crossed limits Graf had imposed on what lawyers could say outside court, according to The Associated Press. Graf declined the defense request to remove capital punishment from the case, saying that remedy would be “grossly disproportionate” to the misconduct.
Graf said concerns about publicity could be addressed during jury selection, when potential jurors are screened and questioned for bias. The judge also said his contempt ruling did not address the merits of the charges against Robinson.
Robinson, 23, is from southwestern Utah and has not entered a plea, the AP reported. He faces an aggravated murder charge in the Sept. 10 killing of Kirk, an ally of President Donald Trump, who was shot in the neck while speaking to thousands of people at Utah Valley University.
Robinson’s defense team accused Ballard of trying to sway prospective jurors through a series of media appearances about ballistics evidence. Defense lawyers also pointed to Ballard’s public statement that prosecutors had enough proof to show Robinson killed Kirk.
Ballard told the court he spoke publicly because he was responding to misinformation about an early finding by ballistics experts, according to the AP. Those preliminary tests did not match a bullet fragment to the gun investigators believe was used in the shooting, leading some outlets to question the strength of the prosecution’s case.
The AP cited a March 30 Daily Mail headline that said the bullet that killed Kirk “did NOT match” the rifle identified by investigators. Ballard said he was trying to “set the record straight” by saying the tests were inconclusive on whether the bullet came from the suspected murder weapon.
Graf said Ballard’s comments about the bullet evidence did not violate the court order. The judge ruled Ballard went beyond what was allowed when he said prosecutors had “ample evidence to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyler Robinson committed this murder.”
According to the AP, Graf said that statement carried a “substantial likelihood” of prejudicing the case. He also said prosecutors did not appear to act out of a malicious intent to contaminate the jury pool.
Both sides have raised concerns that public attention and false claims about the case could affect jurors, the AP reported. Speculation about the ballistics evidence fed unsupported theories that there was a second shooter or that Kirk’s death was staged.
Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the rifle’s trigger, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle, according to the AP. The news agency said it left phone and email messages seeking comment from prosecutors and Robinson’s attorneys.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.