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PROVO, Utah – The Utah man accused of murdering Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in September 2025 will appear in court today for a retrial where Judge Tony Graf Jr. to hear defense motions to block public access to certain court papers, according to the Utah County Attorney’s Office.
Tyler Robinson, 22, faces the death penalty if convicted of killing Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10.
“Specifically, Mr. Robinson wants to take evidence in camera about unfair discrimination and misleading media and inappropriate statements by government officials to avoid the same publication again. Mr. Robinson also asks this court to take evidence about the violation of privacy described in detail in the ‘step to remove the cameras’ in camera, and we avoid the defense.”
Robinson’s defense team also wants to ban cameras and microphones, arguing that media coverage could distract the judge.
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Tyler Robinson, accused of killing Charlie Kirk, appears during a trial in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah on December 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via Pool)
The defense is seeking to close portions of the April 17 hearing from the media, arguing that biased media coverage interferes with Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
At the hearing on April 17, the defense team plans to present evidence about the “damaging and prejudicial media coverage of this case so far,” a defense attorney said.
“While there is not enough time to present all that was said in the ‘camera rollout,’ the expected merger will highlight the most negative and concerning media coverage affecting Mr. Robinson’s case.”
Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking during his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
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Earlier in Robinson’s trial on Feb. 24, Graf denied a motion to dismiss by the Utah State Attorney’s Office.
The legal team argued that there was a conflict of opinion because the prosecutor’s daughter was present at the time of the shooting at UVU.
However, Graf said the court was “not swayed” by the prosecution’s “appearance of bias”.
“Because the defendant has not found a factual basis for a finding of conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety, raising constitutional concerns, his motion is respectfully denied,” Graf said.
4th District Court Judge Tony Graf speaks during a hearing for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, in Utah County Court in Provo, Utah, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via Pool)
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The next hearing on April 17 will discuss the defense’s motion to exclude all cameras from the courtroom, with a hearing scheduled for May 18-20.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz, Stepheny Price, Julia Bonavita, Peter D’Abrosca and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
