Accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson’s attorneys are again asking a Utah judge to block cameras from an upcoming hearing, this time arguing that President Donald Trump’s online post elevates a risk of prejudicing the potential jury pool against their client.
The 23-year-old Robinson’s lawyers have routinely objected to the presence of news cameras in the courtroom and failed to convince the judge to block them. They’ve targeted both still photography and video cameras.
With Robinson due back in court next week, they seized on a presidential Truth Social post from late October.
TRUMP SAYS JUDGE IS ‘DESECRATING’ CHARLIE KIRK’S MEMORY AMID FIGHT OVER ASSASSINATION TRIAL DATE
“The judge in the Charlie Kirk case is doing a terrible job!” Trump wrote after Robinson’s lawyer proposed a trial date in the third quarter of 2029. “This case should be tried within a month, not three years — and it should be over with! The judge is desecrating the memory of the Great Charlie Kirk, while taking forever to ask questions that people already know the answer to. The whole Country is mocking him and our ‘Legal’ System. JUSTICE FOR CHARLIE!”
In addition to reiterating a standing objection to the court’s procedure for challenging cameras, Robinson’s lawyers again claimed that “continuing [electronic media coverage] threatens Mr. Robinson’s rights to a fair trial by an impartial jury by perpetuating bias in the public against Mr. Robinson.”
TYLER ROBINSON’S LAWYERS SEEK CAMERA BAN FOR SEPT. 1 HEARING, SAY CASE IS NOT A ‘REALITY TV SHOW’
“The President’s post only heightens the prejudicial impact of EMC at the November 9 hearing,” they wrote, claiming that cameras “create an unnecessary risk” that statements made in court can spread without context.
“Such out-of-context statements provide unnecessary ammunition for public commentary, including by politicians, that risks exerting undue pressure on the proceedings,” they added. “Even still photography creates risks of prejudicial dissemination and out-of-context interpretation.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Robinson’s lawyers noted that the upcoming scheduling hearing will not include any presentation of evidence or witness testimony.
“Any resultant scheduling order will be publicly accessible, and the proceeding will remain open to the public and members of the press, who may attend and report on it,” they wrote.
And although there are no witnesses expected to testify next week, Robinson’s lawyers also renewed their objection to cameras “because this Court’s procedure for adjudicating the request does not allow any opportunity for witnesses to address privacy or security concerns.”
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Read the filing:
ERIKA KIRK RIPS ‘ABSURD’ 2029 TRIAL TIMELINE FOR CHARLIE KIRK’S ALLEGED ASSASSIN
Robinson is accused of assassinating the 31-year-old Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Utah County prosecutors had floated Jan. 31, 2028, as their preferred trial date but said they could be ready in October 2027. Robinson’s defense team has proposed late 2029 as a “soft target” trial date.
Judge Tony Graf Jr. is expected to address trial timing at Monday’s hearing.