Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man facing the death penalty for allegedly assassinating rising conservative star Charlie Kirk, made his first in-person appearance in a Utah courtroom Thursday ahead of a judge’s ruling that a camera can stay in the courtroom for now.
Mr. Robinson’s mother, father and brother sat nearby. Mr. Robinson, shackled, wore a dress shirt, tie and khakis and smiled as he chatted with his legal team. He appeared at previous hearings via video link.
Judge Tony Graf immediately closed a portion of the hearing from the public in order to address the secrecy of the audio and transcript of an Oct. 14 closed hearing about Mr. Robinson’s appearance at trial.
Lawyers for Mr. Robinson later asked the judge to remove the camera because the client’s shackles could be seen in a livestream and audio, and some of the information on the defense team’s desk could also be seen. The visuals, attorney Staci Visser said, “threaten my client’s right to a fair trial.”
Judge Graf denied the request but ordered the media to move the camera to the side of the courtroom opposite the defense table.
Cameras will remain on, he said, but he could order them removed if they violate rules banning images of Mr. Robinson’s shackles, or audio taken before or after court proceedings begin.
Mr. Tyler’s defense team and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office want Judge Graf to ban cameras in the courtroom when the trial starts sometime next year, and will make their case at a hearing on Feb. 3.
A coalition of media outlets is fighting to preserve camera access to the trial. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, also advocated for keeping cameras in the courtroom during Mr. Robinson’s trial.
On Thursday, Judge Graf granted a motion by the prosecution to designate Mrs. Kirk as the victim’s representative in the case. The start of the trial has yet to be scheduled. A preliminary hearing has been put off repeatedly and may not happen until the middle of 2026.
Mr. Robinson, of St. George, Utah, faces seven charges, among them aggravated murder, which is the state’s sole crime eligible for the death penalty.
He’s accused of fatally shooting Kirk on Sept. 10 from the rooftop of a building on the campus of Utah Valley University, where Kirk was holding an event with students on the campus green.
Prosecutors have made public significant evidence tying Mr. Robinson to the shooting, including text messages to his boyfriend in which he confessed to killing Kirk, who he said was engaged in spreading hateful viewpoints.
Mr. Robinson’s fingerprints were lifted from the rifle used in the shooting and he appears on video images taken inside the stairwell of the building from which prosecutors say the weapon was fired.
On Thursday, prosecutors said they have received 13,900 files from law enforcement related to the case.
Kirk was the co-founder and head of Turning Point USA, a conservative political organization that mobilized the youth vote that helped President Trump win the 2024 election.
