Charlie Kirk murder: Judge denies defense request to disqualify prosecutors in suspect Tyler Robinson's case
Virtual hearing for Charlie Kirk murder suspect
A judge denied the request from the attorneys of Tyler Robinson. Robinson is accused of assassinating conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
A Utah judge ruled Tuesday to keep prosecutors on the murder case against Tyler Robinson in the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. During a WebEx hearing, State District Judge Tony Graf announced his decision to not disqualify state prosecutors over an alleged conflict of interest.
FILE-Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court on December 11, 2025 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Rick Egan-Pool/Getty Images)
Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder after being accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus on Sept. 10, 2025. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Robinson, who has not yet entered a plea and a trial date is not set.
Robinson's attorneys argued that Chad Grunander, a deputy county attorney working on the case, has a conflict of interest because his adult daughter was in the audience when Kirk was shot.
RELATED: Charlie Kirk shooting suspect identified as Tyler Robinson
According to the Associated Press, Grunander’s daughter, whose identity wasn’t released to news media covering the Tyler Robinson case, testified in court that she did not record video of the shooting or the aftermath.
The AP reported that she was looking at the crowd and did not find out until after she ran to safety that it was Kirk who was shot, she shared with the court earlier this month. Full video recordings of Kirk’s shooting have not been shown in court after defense attorneys raised concerns that the footage would undermine Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Charlie Kirk shooting
The backstory:
Charlie Kirk was speaking to a crowd of about 3,000 people on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem when investigators say Robinson, 22, fired a single shot from a building about 140 yards away, striking Kirk, 31, and killing him.
In a January court filing, Robinson’s lawyers claim the video is irrelevant to their motion to have the county prosecutor's office disqualified from overseeing the case and would violate his right to a fair trial.
Prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin May 18.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by FOX News, previous FOX Local coverage, and the Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.