A Utah prosecutor involved in the case against Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, denied allegations of a conflict of interest in the case during a hearing Tuesday.
Robinson’s attorneys argued that a judge should disqualify local prosecutors because the grown daughter of Chad Grunander, a deputy county attorney, attended the rally on a Utah college campus where Kirk was shot dead. The defense said the office’s move to seek the death penalty just days after Kirk’s murder showed a “strong emotional reaction” from Grunander, and suggested a conflict of interest.
Grunander and his daughter testified before Judge Tony Graf in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday. Grunander told the court that her daughter’s presence played no role in her office’s decision to seek the death penalty, and that prosecutors chose to do so because they felt there was enough evidence against Robinson.
County attorney Jeffrey Gray testified Tuesday that he considered seeking the death penalty before authorities arrested Robinson, and said he announced his intention to do so early because the case had already garnered significant public attention.
The testimony came as the defense and prosecution sought to iron out procedural issues in the case before the trial, including whether graphic videos of the killing should be shown in court. Robinson’s lawyers asked the judge in the case to block the footage, and requested that all cameras be banned from the courtroom, arguing that “highly biased” media coverage could undermine his right to a fair trial.
Kirk’s widow, and prosecutors and lawyers at media outlets, urged the judge to keep the proceedings open.
“Without transparency, speculation, misinformation, and conspiracy theories are likely to proliferate, eroding public confidence in the judicial process,” Erika Kirk’s attorney wrote in a court filing Monday. “Such an outcome would not serve the interests of justice or that of Ms Kirk.”
Robinson’s lawyers, however, said the news media had become a “financial investor” in the case, and accused the outlets of trying to determine what the defendant was whispering to his lawyers to lip readers. During a hearing last month, a television camera operator zoomed in on Robinson’s face in violation of court orders.
Legal experts backed up the validity of the defense team’s concerns. Media coverage of high-profile cases like Tyler Robinson’s can have a direct “prejudicial effect” on potential jurors, said Valerie Hans, a professor at Cornell Law School.
“There are videos about the murder, and photos and analysis (and) the whole story of how this particular defendant came to be himself,” said Hans, a leading expert on the jury system. “When jurors come to a trial with this kind of background information from the media, it shapes how they see the evidence presented in court.”
“Watching the videos can make people think, ‘Yeah, this is really bad, cruel or cruel’,” says Hans.
Kirk is one of Donald Trump’s most high-profile allies and his organization, Turning Point USA, has played a key role in helping to strengthen Trump’s 2024 campaign. The national attention and political rhetoric surrounding the case is expected to further complicate efforts to ensure that Robinson receives a fair trial.
Even before Robinson was charged, people jumped to conclusions about who the shooter might be and what kind of politics he supported, said University of Utah law professor Teneille Brown.
“People are just projecting their own sense of what they think is going on, and it’s really creating concerns about whether they’re going to be open to hearing the real evidence that’s being presented,” he said.
Robinson has yet to enter a plea in the case. Prosecutors said DNA evidence linked him to the murder. He reportedly texted his romantic partner that he was targeting Kirk because he “had enough hate”.