THE attorneys of the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk are attempting to remove state prosecutors from the case, arguing the office is tainted by a personal conflict.
Tyler Robinson, 22, returned to court on Friday as his defense team pushed to disqualify the Utah County Attorney’s Office over an alleged conflict of interest.
The showdown played out in Provo, Utah, on Friday, in front of Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder in the September 10 shooting of the Turning Point USA co-founder, 31, as he addressed a large crowd on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted.
Defense attorneys claim the Utah County Attorney’s Office is conflicted because the child of one of its prosecutors attended the event.
The defense said the family member was close to the scene, allegedly within 85 feet of Kirk, and law enforcement was deployed in the area to keep the person safe, according to arguments raised in an October 24 hearing.
The transcript from that hearing was sealed at first, then released with redactions in December after Judge Graf ruled the public had a right to see it.
Inside Friday’s hearing, Robinson’s mother, father, and brother sat in the first row as the defense raised the disqualification motion first.
Prosecutors objected and brushed it off as “a delay tactic.”
Defense attorney Richard Novak pushed back and said that until the judge rules, the prosecutor whose child was at the event should be removed from the case.
In a motion filed in December 2025, Robinson’s lawyers alleged a “concurrent conflict of interest based upon personal connections to a direct witness/victim” tied to the event.
They argued the prosecutor and his son are not “immune to [the] trauma” of the shooting and its aftermath, and that could shape prosecution decisions.
Prosecutors rejected the claim, saying no conflict exists and pointing to what they described as a “comparatively minor emotional reaction” by the prosecutor’s adult child.
They also argued the family member is among “literally thousands of other witnesses,” saying he had “no personal knowledge of the actual murder.”
Judge Graf has not ruled on whether the local prosecutors will be removed from the case.
If the office were disqualified, another jurisdiction or the state attorney general could end up taking over the prosecution.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
Prosecutors allege Robinson gunned down Kirk during the on-campus appearance, striking him once in the neck as horrified attendees looked on.
Robinson is also charged with felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child.
He was arrested about 33 hours after the shooting, after authorities said his father recognized him from images circulating online and turned him in.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15795384/charlie-kirk-killer-tyler-robinson-trial-court-hearing/
