Charlie Kirk Assassination Suspect’s Lawyers Don’t Want Video of Shooting Shown at Hearing

Lawyers for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk filed papers on Tuesday asking a judge to block the introduction of video footage of the Turning Point USA founder’s shooting death during a hearing next month.

In a Utah court filing, Tyler Robinson’s attorneys wrote that the video footage is irrelevant to the nature of the hearing, scheduled for Feb. 3, on whether to disqualify the county prosecutor’s office from overseeing the case.

Lawyers for Robinson filed a notice of objection to the prosecutor’s “proposed exhibit 4.1,” which is a video clip of Kirk’s shooting death at a Utah college in September, which it described as “in color and from a distance of only a few feet away from Mr. Kirk.”

“There is audio contained within the video clip capturing sounds, including unidentified voices, immediately before, during, and after the shooting,” the filing said. The video, Robinson’s lawyers added, “is graphic and likely highly disturbing to any person who views it, negatively impacting Mr. Robinson’s constitutional right to a fair trial.”

Robinson, 22, is charged with capital murder and could face a death sentence in the Sept. 10, 2025, shooting death of Kirk, who was speaking at an event when he was shot. Video footage of the shooting was widely circulated on social media and in media reports in the aftermath.

“This proposed exhibit is clearly inadmissible. If admitted, which would be in contravention of the Utah Rules of Evidence, it should remain sealed until it is admitted into evidence, if it is, at trial,” Robinson’s court filing stated.

His attorneys also made note of the media attention the shooting has generated and suggested it would create prejudice in the jury.

“As the highly biased traditional local and national media and nouveau international social media coverage of this case demonstrates, every in-court statement by attorneys representing the state, whether under oath or not, every statement by counsel for Mr. Robinson, and every observation and ruling by this court are under a microscope and subject to micro-surgery by journalists, bloggers, media ‘experts,’ and others,” the court papers said.

The submission comes as Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, filed a motion this past week, arguing that motions filed by Robinson’s attorneys are attempts at delay and that her rights are also being violated.

“The Utah Code affords victims of a crime ‘the right to a speedy disposition of the charges free from unwarranted delay caused by or at the behest of the defendant,’” attorney Jeffrey Neiman wrote in a court filing on behalf of Kirk, adding that the court must ensure a fair trial but must temper it with her “right to a speedy trial.”

Robinson was arrested more than a day after Kirk’s shooting as prosecutors said he allegedly confessed to the shooting to family members and to a transgender roommate with whom he was romantically involved. Prosecutors say that DNA evidence links him to Kirk’s death and that he also left behind a note to the roommate.

Robinson, who has been jailed without bail since his September arrest, has not entered a plea in the case.