A Utah judge ruled Friday that Tyler Robinson, who is accused of the attempted assassination of Charlie Kirk, remains eligible for the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder. Judge Tony Graf Jr. ruled Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard was in contempt of a court order for statements he made about his opinion on the strength of evidence in the case. However, the judge ruled that he wasn’t wrong for making other statements in which he disputed a misleading characterization about specific ballistic evidence from a defense court filing. So Graf threw out Robinson’s claim that the proper remedy was to remove the potential death penalty, and instead, he said he would expand the jury selection process to ensure a fair trial.
“The court finds that striking the death penalty is grossly disproportionate to the misconduct and legally unavailable in this civil contempt framework,” Graf said in court. Prosecutors had argued they complied with the gag order and all other court rules when they “set the record straight” after what they say was a misleading statement from a defense filing that led to viral news coverage suggesting the ATF could not match the bullet that killed Kirk to the suspected murder weapon, Robinson’s grandfather’s rifle. According to court records, the ATF described the toolmark analysis as inconclusive and said it could not determine whether the bullet fragment found in Kirk came from Robinson’s grandfather’s rifle.
However, the caliber of the bullet was the same, and a spent casing matched the one found at the scene. Prosecutors said the gag order in Robinson’s case or state court rules did not prevent them from correcting what they viewed as a misleading court filing by the defense. But Ballard went further in at least one interview, Graf said, in voicing confidence in the totality of the evidence against Robinson. In doing so, Graf said he improperly expressed an opinion about Robinson’s guilt, which was the basis for the civil contempt ruling.
Death Penalty Ruling in Kirk Case
Prosecutors said Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Kirk at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. The back-and-forth has devolved into a war of words, with prosecutors accusing the defense of releasing misleading information through court filings and the defense accusing prosecutors of “hubris” when responding in a string of media interviews they say violate a gag order. Robinson will appear by video from jail. He has not yet entered a plea and will not be expected to until after his preliminary hearing, which is set to be held over a week in early July.
The case has been moving along recently. Lance Twiggs, a 22-year-old trans lover and former roommate of accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson, was granted limited immunity for statements he provided to prosecutors during an April interview. Twiggs could become a key witness during a multi-day preliminary hearing scheduled for next month in Robinson’s murder case. According to court filings, Twiggs met with prosecutors on April 20 and participated in a recorded interview about Robinson.
Portions of that interview could be presented to Utah Judge Tony Graf during the July hearing. According to court filings submitted Tuesday, prosecutors said they could also introduce messages exchanged between Twiggs and Robinson as evidence during the upcoming proceedings. The filings state that Twiggs is expected to receive limited use immunity for his recorded statement, meaning the interview itself generally cannot be used against him in future criminal proceedings.
Witness Immunity in Robinson Case
According to prosecutors, Twiggs reiterated during his April 20 interview statements he previously made to investigators following Kirk’s September killing. Prosecutors said Twiggs told authorities that Robinson admitted to carrying out the shooting, said he concealed the firearm afterward, disposed of clothing connected to the incident and instructed Twiggs not to speak with law enforcement. Robinson has been charged in the case, and The Post noted that prosecutors have not yet tested the allegations in court.
Prosecutors disclosed the information while opposing a request by Robinson’s defense team to compel Twiggs to testify at the preliminary hearing. According to court filings, prosecutors argued that Twiggs’ appearance was unnecessary because investigators already possess his recorded statements as well as screenshots of text messages exchanged between Twiggs and Robinson. Last week, Robinson was back in court as his defense team suffered another setback. Judge Graf denied Robinson’s motion to stay the case until his defense appeals the judge’s earlier ruling to deny their motion to bar cameras from the courtroom. This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
