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Utah prosecutors and a broad coalition of media organizations are fighting back against an alleged assassination attempt on Charlie Kirk Taylor RobinsonThe defense was to keep the court documents from public view, arguing there was no reason to keep them secret.
Prosecutors argued that Robinson’s defense failed to justify the secret documents or explain how their public release would violate his right to a fair trial in the assassination of the founder of Turning Point USA. Remedies for defense concerns should be part of jury selection, not secret pretrial documents, they wrote.
“Defendant has not rebutted the presumption that the public should have access to his motion, given the defendant’s lack of good reason to limit access to his motion and the existence of these ‘reasonable means of ensuring a fair trial’ despite pretrial publicity,” Utah Deputy U.S. Attorney Christopher Ballard wrote to the judge last week.
Crowds react to the shooting death of Charlie Kirk during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 in Orem. (Tess Crowley/AP Deseret News)
For media groups including Fox News and other national and local outlets, the constitutional argument weighs heavily on first amendment rights The public as a whole opposed Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Lawyers for the media coalition argued they were forced to guess what evidence the defense wanted to exclude because the underlying motion was filed under seal on Jan. 9. They warned it would cause confusion for the public.
On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk showed up at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when someone fled after being shot. Turning Point USA founder Kirk was shot in the neck while speaking on his “American Comeback Tour.” (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
According to defense documents, the public’s right to know is not absolute, while Robinson’s right to a fair trial is. They hope their 200-page motion will prevent confidential news cameras from entering the courtroom, arguing that its undisclosed content could unfairly prejudice the jury against their client.
“My view is that the defendant’s attempts to keep it secret are doomed to fail,” said Royal Oakes, a media lawyer and legal analyst who successfully persuaded a California judge in the 1990s to televise the O.J. Simpson murder trial. “Not every document, piece of testimony, or fact will automatically be made available to the public and the media simply because it is relevant to the legal process — but nearly everything is.”
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Tyler Robinson, charged with the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing on Thursday, December 11, 2025, in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via Pool)
The Supreme Court held that “pretrial publicityEven if it is widespread and concentrated, it cannot be considered to automatically lead to unfair trials in various criminal cases,” a prosecutor’s document said.
“Any documents filed by either party for or against sealing documents, ending court proceedings, approving or opposing cameras should absolutely be public documents,” Oakes told Fox News Digital. “Transparency not only encourages people to do the right thing, it also allows the public and the media to push back if confidentiality is not done properly.”
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point Initiative 2024 Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida on July 26, 2024, followed by a speech by Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
Robinson’s defense also Have questions about feature videos They claimed his face was being misused by “lip readers” to distort court conversations and accused the media of trying to “make profits at the expense of allowing the case to proceed openly and fairly as required by the Constitution”.
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University of Virginia students pause to think as they gaze at the site of Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, in Orem, Utah. University campuses reopened today with classes resuming after a week of closure. (Matthew Finn/Fox News)
“news media For example, using their platform to call for Mr. Robinson’s execution, having ‘body language experts’ make irrelevant and completely unscientific assertions about Mr. Robinson’s character, and distributing videos around the world in clear violation of court orders,” the defense argued.
The media coalition strongly disputed those claims, saying the defense was misusing outdated laws. At least one of their arguments rests on decades-old precedent that was effectively overturned by the Supreme Court, according to a filing from media lawyers.
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On September 10, 2025, a shooting occurred during an appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Turning Point USA founder Kirk was shot in the neck while speaking on his “American Comeback Tour.” (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“Relying entirely on the First Amendment, the Richmond newspaper’s seven-to-one reversal of the closure order represents an extraordinary re-evaluation and adjustment by the courts on the issue of access,” the media lawyers wrote. “As a result, ‘Gannett’ was effectively struck down within a year of its release.”
Robinson was charged fatal shot In September, Kirk stood on the rooftop during a public speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Robinson is believed to have spent about a week planning the murder and confessed to his lover, friends and family, according to court documents previously released by prosecutors.
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New security measures have been put in place in the area where an assassin allegedly shot Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. (Stephanie Price/Fox News Digital)
Prosecutors say text messages were exchanged between Robinson and Lance Twiggs. Who are my lovers and roommates? is cooperating with investigators and includes what appears to be an unambiguous confession:
“Aren’t you the one doing the right thing????” Twiggs wrote.
“I am, I’m sorry,” Robinson allegedly responded.
defense lawyer The alleged communication issues have not been resolved and did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Charlie Kirk speaks before his assassination during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/AP Deseret News)
He has yet to enter a plea and prosecutors have yet to convince the court of probable cause as his trial has been repeatedly delayed. Preliminary Hearings and Arraignments.
Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted of the top charge of aggravated murder.
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Additionally, the defense is contending The prosecutor has been fired The case is said to be conflict of interest. A deputy Utah prosecutor who prosecuted the case said an adult child was among the crowd at the University of Virginia during Kirk’s murder.
Prosecutors deny there was a conflict. Robinson will return to court Tuesday afternoon for a continued hearing on the matter. Utah State Attorney Jeff Gray will return to the witness stand.
