Tyler Robinson, the man charged with seven counts including aggravated murder for killing Charlie Kirk, now wants his preliminary hearing closed off from cameras and the public — because apparently the guy who allegedly used a .30-06 Springfield rifle to assassinate a conservative leader is worried about fairness.
Oh, how touching. The man held without bond and facing the death penalty is suddenly very concerned about proper procedure. Welcome to America's legal system, folks, where the accused murderer of one of the most prominent conservative voices in the country gets to whine about media coverage while the victim's family gets to plan a funeral.
Defense attorney Staci Visser argued in Judge Tony Graf's Utah courtroom this week that public access to certain evidence could taint the jury pool, citing what the defense called "extensive adverse publicity." Her co-counsel Richard Novak, meanwhile, filed a motion accusing Utah County Attorney Chris Ballard of violating a gag order by appearing on Fox News to discuss an ATF report about the bullet fragment recovered from Kirk's body.
Here's where it gets interesting. The ATF report found that a .30 caliber bullet jacket fragment pulled from Kirk's body was too damaged for a conclusive match to the rifle found at the scene. The defense, naturally, ran to the press to trumpet this as some kind of exoneration. Ballard then went on Fox & Friends and pushed back, arguing the fragment was consistent with Robinson's rifle even if an exact match wasn't possible — and that the ATF couldn't exclude the weapon either.
Novak was furious. "If Mr. Ballard and his colleagues thought that we mischaracterized the ATF report, which we did not, but if that's what they really believed in good faith, they could have filed something with this court" or "reached out to us" rather than contacting TMZ and Fox & Friends, he argued. So the defense leaks to generate favorable coverage, then screams bloody murder when the prosecution responds publicly. Classic.
State attorney Ryan McBride wasn't having it. He told the court that media reports had created "a tidal wave" of misinformation "garnering more than 10 million views in a matter of hours," which forced prosecutors to correct the record. And honestly? Good for them. When the defense is out there spinning an ATF report to make it sound like their client is innocent, somebody has to set the record straight.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander made the state's position crystal clear: "The state has tried to make it abundantly clear throughout this process that we favor open hearings, so that the public can trust what happens in this courtroom." He even offered a compromise — turning monitors away from the gallery during sensitive testimony rather than shutting the doors entirely.
That's the difference between the two sides here. The prosecution wants sunlight. The defense wants shadows. Gee, wonder why.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea and remains held without bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 6-10. Judge Graf has until June 1 to rule on the media access question and until June 12 to decide on the gag order violation motion.
Let's be real about what's happening. Robinson's legal team knows that the more the public sees, the harder it becomes to spin this. They want to control the narrative — leak what helps, hide what hurts, and hope a jury never sees the full picture until they've had months to soften the ground. It's Defense Lawyering 101, and it's as transparent as a freshly Windexed window.
Charlie Kirk was gunned down for his beliefs, according to Megyn Kelly's reporting on the case. The least we can do is make sure his killer's trial happens in the open, where every American can watch justice work. If the evidence is as ambiguous as the defense claims, sunlight should help them, not hurt them.
Unless, of course, it doesn't.