Defense seeks to block videos of Charlie Kirk's killing in murder case, claims bias

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Graphic videos showing the sidesplitting of blimpish activistic Charlie Kirk portion helium spoke to a assemblage connected a Utah assemblage field rapidly went viral, drafting millions of views.

Now, attorneys for the antheral charged successful the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk privation a authorities justice to artifact specified videos from being shown during a proceeding Tuesday. Defense attorneys besides privation to oust TV and inactive cameras from the courtroom, arguing that “highly biased” quality outlets hazard tainting the case.

Prosecutors, attorneys for quality organizations, and Kirk’s widow urged authorities District Judge Tony Graf to support the proceedings open.

“In the lack of transparency, speculation, misinformation, and conspiracy theories are apt to proliferate, eroding nationalist assurance successful the judicial process,” Erika Kirk's lawyer wrote successful a Monday tribunal filing. “Such an result serves neither the interests of justness nor those of Ms. Kirk.”

But ineligible experts accidental the defence team's worries are real: Media sum successful high-profile cases specified arsenic Tyler Robinson's tin person a nonstop “biasing effect” connected imaginable jurors, said Cornell Law School Professor Valerie Hans.

“There were videos astir the killing, and pictures and investigation (and) the full saga of however this peculiar suspect came to crook himself in,” said Hans, a starring adept connected the assemblage system. “When jurors travel to a proceedings with this benignant of inheritance accusation from the media, it shapes however they spot the grounds that is presented successful the courtroom.”

Watching those videos mightiness marque radical think, "'Yeah, this was particularly heinous, atrocious oregon cruel,'” Hans said.

Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray testified Tuesday that helium thought astir seeking the decease punishment earlier an apprehension had been made. He could not callback precisely erstwhile helium told the politician and national officials astir his plan. Asked wherefore helium announced truthful aboriginal his intent to question the decease penalty, Gray said the lawsuit was already drafting tremendous nationalist attention.

“The much delay, past it conscionable creates each this unnecessary nationalist speculation,” helium said, adding that helium didn’t privation Erika Kirk to person to beryllium with the uncertainty.

Defense attorneys are seeking to disqualify section prosecutors due to the fact that the big girl of Chad Grunander, a lawman region lawyer helping prosecute the case, attended the rally wherever Kirk was shot. The defence alleges the narration represents a struggle of interest.

In response, prosecutors said successful a tribunal filing that they could contiguous videos to show that Grunander's girl was not a indispensable witnesser since galore different radical recorded the shooting. Among the videos, prosecutors wrote, is 1 that shows the slug hitting Kirk, humor coming from his neck, and Kirk falling from his chair.

Grunander's girl testified Tuesday that she did not video the shooting oregon the aftermath. She said she had been looking astatine the assemblage erstwhile she heard a large popular and a antheral sitting adjacent shouted, “He’s been shot.” She said she ne'er turned to look astatine Kirk and was much focused connected moving to safety.

Prosecutors person said DNA grounds connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson besides reportedly texted his romanticist spouse that helium targeted Kirk due to the fact that helium “had capable of his hatred.” He has not yet entered a plea.

Robinson's attorneys person ramped up claims of bias arsenic the lawsuit has advanced, adjacent accusing quality outlets of utilizing articulator readers to deduce what the suspect is whispering to his attorneys during tribunal hearings.

Fueling those concerns was a tv camera relation who zoomed successful connected Robinson's look arsenic helium talked to his attorneys during a Jan. 16 hearing. That violated courtroom orders, prompting the justice to halt filming of Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.

“Rather than being a beacon for information and openness, the News Media person simply go a fiscal capitalist successful this case,” defence attorneys wrote successful a petition for the tribunal to seal immoderate of their accusations of media bias. Unsealing those records, they added, “will simply make adjacent much views of the offending coverage, and much gross for the News Media.”

Further complicating efforts to guarantee a just proceedings is the governmental rhetoric swirling astir Kirk, stemming from the relation his enactment played successful Trump’s 2024 election. Even earlier Robinson was charged, radical jumped to conclusions astir who the shooter could beryllium and what benignant of authorities helium espoused, said University of Utah instrumentality prof Teneille Brown.

“People are conscionable projecting a batch of their ain consciousness of what they deliberation was going on, and that truly creates concerns astir whether they tin beryllium unfastened to proceeding the existent grounds that’s presented,” she said.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.