What Tyler Robinson's defense wants hidden and why prosecutors and media say no in court

Utah prosecutors and a wide conjugation of media organizations are pushing backmost against attempts by alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson’s defence to shield tribunal filings from nationalist view, arguing there's nary justification for the secrecy.

Prosecutors argued that Robinson's defence has failed to some warrant secretive filings and to explicate however their nationalist merchandise would interruption his close to a just proceedings successful the assassination of the Turning Point USA founder. They wrote that the remedy for the defense's concerns should beryllium portion of assemblage selection, not concealed pre-trial filings.

"Given Defendant's inadequate justification for restricting entree to his motion, and the beingness of these 'reasonable ways to guarantee a just trial' contempt pre-trial publicity, Defendant has not rebutted the presumption that the nationalist should person entree to his motion," Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard wrote to the justice past week.

ACCUSED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN TYLER ROBINSON TRIES TO HIDE FROM ‘DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD’ OF PUBLICITY: EXPERT

The assemblage reacts aft Charlie Kirk is changeable during Turning Point's sojourn to Utah Valley University successful Orem connected Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.  (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

For the media group, which includes Fox News on with different nationalist and section outlets, the law arguments mostly measurement the First Amendment rights of the nationalist arsenic a full against Robinson's close to a just trial.

Lawyers for the media conjugation person argued they are being forced to conjecture what grounds the defence wants excluded, due to the fact that the underlying question was filed nether seal connected Jan. 9. This creates disorder for the public, they warned.

People tally aft shots were fired during an quality by Charlie Kirk astatine Utah Valley University connected September 10, 2025 successful Orem, Utah.  Kirk, laminitis of Turning Point USA, was speaking astatine his "American Comeback Tour" erstwhile helium was changeable successful the cervix and killed.   (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

According to defence filings, the public’s close of entree is not absolute, portion Robinson's close to a just proceedings is. They privation their 200-page question to artifact quality cameras to the courtroom classified, arguing that its undisclosed contents could unfairly prejudice the assemblage excavation against their client.

"My instrumentality is that the defendant’s efforts to support things nether wraps is doomed," said Royal Oakes, a media lawyer and ineligible expert who successfully convinced a California justice to televise the OJ Simpson execution proceedings successful the 1990s. "Not each document, snippet of testimony, oregon information is automatically unfastened to the nationalist and property simply due to the fact that it relates to a ineligible proceeding — but astir everything is."

WHAT WILL BE TYLER ROBINSON’S DEFENSE STRATEGY? EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON ACCUSED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN

Tyler Robinson, accused of the execution of Charlie Kirk, appears during a proceeding successful Fourth District Court successful Provo, Utah, Thursday, December, 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via Pool)

The Supreme Court has recovered "pretrial publicity, adjacent if pervasive and concentrated, cannot beryllium regarded arsenic starring automatically and successful each benignant of transgression lawsuit to an unfair trial," according to a filing from the prosecution.

"Any paperwork submitted by 1 of the parties supporting oregon opposing the sealing of documents, oregon the closing of tribunal proceedings, oregon the support oregon disapproval of cameras should perfectly beryllium nationalist documents," Oakes told Fox News Digital. "Transparency not lone encourages radical to bash the close thing, it lets the nationalist and the property propulsion backmost if secrecy is unwarranted."

Turning Point USA laminitis Charlie Kirk speaks during Turning Point Action's The Believers Summit 2024 up of Republican statesmanlike nominee and erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump’s presentation, successful West Palm Beach, Florida, connected July 26, 2024. (REUTERS/Marco Bello)

Robinson's defence has besides taken contented with closeup video of his face, which they claimed was abused by "lip readers" to distort courtroom conversations, and is accusing the media of trying to "turn a nett astatine the disbursal of allowing this lawsuit to proceed arsenic the Constitution requires—both nationalist and fair."

JUDGE PRESIDING OVER TYLER ROBINSON CASE URGED TO REIN IN DEFENSE DELAY TACTICS

UVU students intermission to bespeak arsenic they regard implicit the spot wherever Charlie Kirk was assassinated, Orem, Utah, Wednesday, September 17, 2025. The assemblage field reopened contiguous and classes resumed aft being closed for a week. (Matthew Finn/Fox News)

"The News Media uses their platforms to, for example, telephone for Mr. Robinson's death, to person 'body connection experts' marque irrelevant and wholly unscientific claims astir Mr. Robinson's character, and to transmit video worldwide that is successful wide usurpation of the Court's orders," the defence argued.

The media conjugation pushed backmost hard against those claims, arguing the defence is misapplying outdated law. At slightest 1 of their arguments relies connected a precedent that was efficaciously overruled, decades ago, by the Supreme Court, according to a filing from media lawyers.

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The country aft shots were fired astatine an quality by Charlie Kirk astatine Utah Valley University connected September 10, 2025 successful Orem, Utah.  Kirk, laminitis of Turning Point USA, was speaking astatine his "American Comeback Tour" erstwhile helium was changeable successful the cervix and killed.   (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

"The seven-to-one reversal of the closure bid successful Richmond Newspapers, relying wholly upon the First Amendment, represented an bonzer reevaluation by, and realignment of, the Court connected the contented of access," media attorneys wrote. "As a result, 'Gannett was efficaciously overruled wrong a twelvemonth of its release.'"

Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Kirk from a rooftop during a nationalist speaking lawsuit astatine Utah Valley University successful Orem, Utah, backmost successful September. According to antecedently released tribunal filings from the prosecution, Robinson is believed to person spent astir a week readying the execution and allegedly confessed to his lover, friends and his family.

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New information measures person been added to the country wherever the alleged assassin changeable and killed Turning Point USA laminitis Charlie Kirk. (Stepheny Price/Fox News Digital)

A substance connection speech that prosecutors allege took spot betwixt Robinson and Lance Twiggs, the person and roommate who is cooperating with investigators contains what appears to beryllium an explicit confession:

"You weren’t the 1 who did it right????" Twiggs wrote.

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"I am, I’m sorry," Robinson allegedly replied.

Defense attorneys person not addressed the alleged speech oregon responded to a fig of Fox News Digital's requests for comment.

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Charlie Kirk speaks earlier helium is assassinated during Turning Point's sojourn to Utah Valley University successful Orem, Utah connected September 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

He has not yet entered a plea, and prosecutors person not yet convinced the tribunal of probable origin owed to repeated postponements of his preliminary proceeding and arraignment.

Robinson could look the decease punishment if convicted of the apical complaint against him, aggravated murder.

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Separately, the defence is vying to person prosecutors kicked disconnected the lawsuit implicit a purported struggle of interest. One of the lawman Utah County attorneys connected the lawsuit had an big kid who was successful the assemblage astatine UVU during Kirk's murder.

Prosecutors person denied a conflict. Robinson is owed backmost successful tribunal Tuesday day for a continuation of a proceeding connected the matter. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray volition instrumentality to the witnesser stand.