Judge for Charlie Kirk shooting case holds prosecutor in contempt, keeps death penalty on the table

Originally Published: 26 JUN 26 11:26 ET

Updated: 26 JUN 26 12:02 ET

By Andi Babineau, Nicki Brown, CNN

(CNN) — A Utah judge in the case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk ruled Friday to hold a prosecutor in civil contempt for violating a pretrial publicity order but opted to leave the death penalty in place as a possible outcome in his murder trial.

The defense’s contempt motion stemmed from comments prosecutor Christopher Ballard, also a spokesperson for the Utah County Attorney’s Office, made to several media outlets this spring about an inconclusive ballistics report mentioned in a defense filing.

While attempting to clarify the results of the report to the media, Ballard also included comments referencing the strength of the state’s case against Tyler Robinson.

“Those additional public statements possessed a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the proceedings by communicating the prosecutor’s assessment of the defendant’s guilt,” Judge Tony Graf said while issuing his ruling Friday.

Still, Graf stopped short of granting a defense request that he prohibit the state from seeking the death penalty should Robinson be convicted.

Graf said he would consider additional measures during jury selection to address any potential effects Ballard’s comments could have on the jury pool. The defense will also be allowed to recoup legal fees related to the contempt proceedings, he said.

The decision to keep the death penalty on the table was a blow to Robinson, who faces charges of aggravated murder, felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and committing a violent act in the presence of a child in connection with the fatal shooting of Kirk, a high-profile conservative activist, on a Utah college campus last September.

Robinson has yet to enter pleas.

Graf’s decision was initially expectedMonday, when he ruled on separate motions related to the admissibility of hearsay evidence during Robinson’s upcoming preliminary hearing and a motion to quash a subpoena for a key out-of-state witness the defense wanted to call.

At the start of Monday’s hearing, Graf said because both parties had “submitted additional briefing” on the matter following a June 12 evidentiary hearing, “the court requires additional time to complete this thorough review.”

The documents filed related to the defense’s request during that hearing for Graf to eliminate the death penalty in the case if he found prosecutors in contempt for speaking to the media about ballistics evidence.

Prosecutors filed a written objection to the request, calling it “grossly disproportionate to the alleged misconduct.”

“To the extent the Court finds that the prosecution could have made a better statement, it certainly is not a misstep that warrants the drastic and never-before-imposed remedy of reducing the aggravated murder charge to a first-degree felony,” the document says.

Robinson’s defense fired back a day later, calling the state’s objection “uninvited” and saying the court did not request nor authorize “any written post-hearing briefing.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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