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PROVO, Utah — Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, is scheduled to return to court today. His legal team aims to persuade a judge to limit public access to certain parts of his preliminary hearing.
The judge will consider two key issues: a request from Robinson’s defense to partially close the upcoming hearing and seal certain evidence, and a motion to sanction prosecutors for discussing the case outside the courtroom.
Robinson’s attorneys, Kathy Nester, Michael Burt, Richard Novak, and Staci Visser, are pushing to prevent the public from accessing testimonies or exhibits that might later be deemed inadmissible during the trial.
Details remain vague in court documents regarding which specific testimonies or evidence the defense seeks to keep confidential. Prosecutors argue that without specifying these details, the motion should be dismissed.
Tyler Robinson is set to appear in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, on December 11, 2025, facing charges for the murder of Charlie Kirk. (Photo by Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune)
According to court filings, some of the exhibits prosecutors plan to present include records from the communications app Discord, text messages, written or recorded statements, videos of the shooting and a note.
Robinson, 22, is accused of fatally shooting Kirk, 31, at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk was answering a question from the audience at a Turning Point USA event in front of roughly 3,000 people when a sniper’s bullet struck him in the neck.
Judge Tony Graf Jr. previously rejected another defense motion to ban news cameras from the courtroom.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point Action, speaks during a campus meeting at the University of Arizona in Tucson on Oct. 17, 2024. (Olivier Touron/AFP)
Legal analyst Randolph Rice told Fox News Digital previously that the motion to have part of Robinson’s preliminary hearing held in private is a “strategic move” aimed at minimizing damage to his reputation in front of the potential jury pool.
“A preliminary hearing is not a trial, so prosecutors are often permitted to introduce certain evidence, hearsay statements, police summaries, or investigative details that may never be admissible before the actual trial jury,” he said. “The defense wants to limit public dissemination of that information to avoid tainting the future jury pool.”
A ladder and rooftop ledge lead to the roof of the Loose Center at Utah Valley University, with no security gate in place. (Stepheny Price/Fox News Digital)
The second motion is asking Graf to sanction prosecutors for doing media interviews after the defense questioned ballistics testing in court documents.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray’s office countered that when speaking about the issue, his prosecutors “set the record straight” and did not violate any court rules.
Robinson’s defense lawyers, in a court filing, asserted that “the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr. Robinson.”
Deputy County Attorney Christopher Ballard, in an opposition filing, called the claim misleading and “misstated” and noted it had gone viral and fueled conspiracy theories before anyone from his office spoke out against it.
An aerial view of Utah Valley University campus shows the suspected movements of Tyler Robinson, the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk, based on court documents, video from the scene and law enforcement conversations. (Fox News Digital)
“The ATF was unable to identify or exclude the bullet as having been fired from the rifle,” he wrote, emphasizing the missing information in italics.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during his “American Comeback Tour” appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“Defendant reinforced this misleading inference by following it up with, ‘the defense may very well decide to offer the testimony of the ATF firearm analyst as exculpatory evidence,’” he added.
In response, members of the prosecution team attempted to provide more context in public interviews, explaining the ATF’s conclusions while noting the defendant was innocent until proven guilty, Ballard wrote.
UVU students pause to reflect as they look over the spot where Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 17, 2025. The college campus reopened and classes resumed after being closed for a week. (Matthew Finn/Fox News)
Graf eventually unsealed the ATF report in order to give the public direct access to the source material.
If convicted, Robinson could potentially face the death penalty.
Robinson surrendered to authorities in southern Utah less than two days after the slaying.
Prosecutors have alleged he confessed to friends and family. He is being held without bail and has not yet entered a plea.
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