- Tyler Robinson's defense seeks to ban cameras in his capital murder court proceedings.
- Prosecutors argue media presence counters misinformation in the high-profile case.
- Judge Graf will hear arguments from both sides on Friday in Provo.
PROVO — Tyler Robinson's efforts to keep cameras out of the courtroom are expected to come to a head Friday as both sides present their arguments in court.
Robinson, who turned 23 on Thursday, is accused of shooting and killing political activist Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. He is charged with capital murder and faces a potential death sentence if convicted.
His case has generated worldwide attention and his defense team doesn't like it. The attorneys filed a motion in January requesting that "television cameras and microphones, still photographers, radio microphones and other similar implements of the electronic or broadcast media" be kept out of the courtroom during his legal proceedings. The motion was filed under seal because Robinson claimed he didn't want the news stories and press conferences his team cited as reasons for banning cameras to then be republicized by the media.
Robinson contends that electronic media coverage threatens his due process and his rights to seating a fair and impartial jury.
Watch Friday's proceedings here:
In March, 4th District Judge Tony Graf denied Robinson's request to keep the motion sealed, ruling that a lot of the so-called sensitive information is already public. He agreed, however, that information determined to be "private" could remain redacted.
The Utah County Attorney's Office countered that the publicity surrounding the high-profile case has also raised concerns for the office. But unlike the defense team, prosecutors say that's exactly why cameras and microphones should remain in the courtroom.
"Keeping court proceedings as public as possible helps to quell and contradict the tide of misinformation," prosecutors said in their reply.
On Friday, Graf will hear arguments from both sides. Robinson is expected to be in the courtroom for the hearing.
The defense is expected to call several witnesses on Friday, including Christine L. Ruva, a professor and chair of psychology at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, and Bryan Edelman of California, who holds a Ph.D. in social psychology, and assisted the defense of Bryan Kohberger, who was convicted in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students.
"Ruva will testify as to the research and opinions described in her declaration, and to her opinion that the nature and extent of publicity in this case is reasonably likely to cause conscious or unconscious bias," the defense says.
Edelman is expected to provide testimony regarding a telephone survey conducted on March 13 and will discuss "the demographic size and social and political characteristics of the adult population of Utah County" as well as "the results of the public opinion surveys and other studies conducted by others, such as the media." He will also discuss "his review of the electronic pretrial publicity in this case and will offer his opinion regarding the prejudicial nature of such publicity," according to the defense team's notice of appearance.
In his motion, Robinson points to the extensive media coverage the killing of Kirk received even before Robinson's arrest, and comments made by people such as Gov. Spencer Cox and President Donald Trump.
Robinson says he further plans to provide the court on Friday "with evidence detailing private information … (that) was publicized by government officials in violation of Utah and federal law," his motion argues. "It is anticipated that the individuals will offer testimony as to these facts and, as witnesses both to the issues presented and potentially future hearings, their safety and privacy are paramount."
Robinson may even request that portions of Friday's hearing be closed to the public.
An attorney representing the media will also be in attendance and ready to present should the court allow it.
First Amendment attorneys have argued that there has never been a case in Utah in which a defendant was found to have received an unfair trial because of pretrial publicity, even though there have been many high-profile criminal cases in Utah before Robinson's.
This story will be updated.
