A Utah judge has held prosecutors in contempt of court for making public comments about the guilt of the defendant in the murder case of Charlie Kirk, an ally of former President Donald Trump. Judge Tony Graf stated on Friday that the prosecutors' remarks to media organizations violated his restrictions on discussing the case outside of court.
Defense attorneys had accused Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard of attempting to influence potential jurors by engaging in a "media tour" and discussing ballistics evidence. Ballard had asserted that prosecutors possessed sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant, Tyler Robinson, murdered Kirk.
Judge Graf denied the defense's request to remove the death penalty as a sanction for the violation. He indicated that the issue could be addressed during the jury selection process, which aims to identify and exclude potentially biased individuals. Graf deemed removing the death penalty an "extremely severe" and "grossly disproportionate" remedy for the misconduct.
Robinson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting death of Kirk, who was killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
Ballard contended that he had a right to speak to the press to counter misinformation regarding preliminary ballistics findings. Initial tests by experts did not match a bullet fragment with the weapon investigators believe was used to kill Kirk, leading to some media reports questioning the prosecution's case. A March 30 headline in the Daily Mail reported that the bullet that killed Kirk did not match the rifle believed to have been used in the assassination.
Ballard stated his intention was to "set the record straight," explaining that ballistics tests were inconclusive in determining if the bullet was fired from the suspected murder weapon. Concerns have been raised by both prosecution and defense attorneys that the misinformation and extensive media attention could prejudice the jury pool, fueling unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about a second shooter or a staged death.
The judge clarified that while comments about the bullet's inconclusive test results did not violate court rules, Ballard's subsequent statement that prosecutors had "ample evidence to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyler Robinson committed this murder" crossed the line. Graf found these additional public statements carried a "substantial likelihood" of prejudicing the case.
Graf emphasized that the contempt ruling was not due to any malicious intent by prosecutors to taint the jury pool and was unrelated to the charges or Robinson's guilt. The ruling's "sole purpose is enforcement of a narrowly tailored publicity order governing attorney conduct," the judge stated.
Authorities have reported finding DNA consistent with Robinson's on the rifle's trigger, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges, and a towel used to wrap the weapon.