The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk could still face the death penalty if convicted, after a Utah judge rejected a defense effort to remove capital punishment from the case.
In a ruling handed down Friday, Judge Tony Graf Jr. found that a prosecutor violated a court order by publicly commenting on the strength of the evidence against suspect Tyler Robinson. However, the judge concluded that the misconduct was not severe enough to justify taking the death penalty off the table.
“The court finds that striking the death penalty is grossly disproportionate to the misconduct,” Graf said.
The decision marks a major victory for prosecutors, who have vowed to pursue capital punishment if Robinson is convicted in the high-profile killing.
Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in September 2025, an attack that sent shockwaves through the conservative movement.
Defense attorneys had argued that prosecutors violated a gag order by speaking to the media and should be punished by losing the ability to seek the death penalty.
Judge Graf agreed that Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard crossed the line when he publicly expressed confidence in the overall strength of the case against Robinson. The judge held Ballard in civil contempt for those comments.
But Graf stopped short of imposing the drastic penalty sought by the defense. Instead, he said the court will expand jury selection procedures to ensure Robinson receives a fair trial.
The dispute centers in part on conflicting public statements about forensic evidence.
Defense attorneys pointed to court filings showing that federal firearms experts could neither conclusively identify nor exclude a rifle belonging to Robinson’s grandfather as the weapon used to kill Kirk. Prosecutors, however, argued that the defense created a misleading public narrative by omitting other evidence, including a shell casing allegedly matched to the rifle and caliber evidence consistent with the fatal shot.
The increasingly bitter legal battle has turned into a public war of words, with prosecutors accusing the defense of distorting evidence and defense attorneys accusing prosecutors of violating court rules out of “hubris.”
Robinson has not yet entered a plea. His preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin in early July and is expected to last more than a week.
With Friday’s ruling, one thing is now clear: if Robinson is ultimately convicted of murdering Charlie Kirk, prosecutors will still have the option of asking a jury to impose the ultimate punishment.