During Tyler Robinson’s court appearance on Tuesday, multiple screenshots from the videos showing the graphic and brutal killing of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk were presented as evidence. The videos quickly went viral during the Utah college campus event, and millions of people, including those present in the courtroom, had already seen it, so the screenshots, while difficult to look at, were not surprising.
Shooting of Charlie Kirk
Tyler Robinson has been accused of murdering Charlie Kirk at a Turning Point USA event on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025. In the middle of Kirk answering a question to one of the college students in the crowd, he was shot point-blank in the neck. Many were videotaping at the time since Kirk was known for arguing with young adults whose views differed from his, and it was common to post them afterward for those only to discuss.
The event was estimated to have nearly 3,000 in attendance, some in support of Kirk, but the majority were there to question and debate his views, which is the whole point of Turning Point USA. When President Donald Trump was campaigning during the 2024 election, Kirk mobilized young people to vote for him and used his platform as CEO of Turning Point USA to draw them in.
However, the debate caught on video was like no other. The full video showing Kirk’s assassination was immediately posted to the internet for millions to witness. It was not presented in court since Robinson’s defense attorneys objected, stating that viewing the footage causes concern that Robinson would receive a fair trial.
Right to a Fair Trial
A leading jury system expert, Cornell Law School Professor Valerie Hans, weighed in on the matter in support of the defense’s concerns. She said that media coverage in high-profile cases has proven “biasing effects” on potential jurors.
“There were videos about the killing, and pictures, and analysis (and) the entire saga of how this particular defendant came to turn himself in,” Hans said. “When jurors come to a trial with this kind of background information from the media, it shapes how they see the evidence that is presented in the courtroom.”
Defense attorneys are also strongly against the presence of TV and still cameras during court proceedings. They filed a motion of dignity last month, arguing the need “eliminate all video and audio broadcasting or delayed feeds of court proceedings,” because it will provide “highly biased” news outlets a chance to taint their case.
However, prosecutors, news organization attorneys, and Erika Kirk pleaded with state District Judge Tony Graf to keep the proceedings open to the public. “In the absence of transparency, speculation, misinformation, and conspiracy theories are likely to proliferate, eroding public confidence in the judicial process,” Erika Kirk’s attorney wrote in a court filing.
Potential Death Sentence
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for the 22-year-old charged with aggravated murder in the death of Charlie Kirk. Robinson has yet to enter a plea. If they wish to secure a death sentence, they have to demonstrate aggravating circumstances surrounding Kirk’s murder. Utah requires the prosecution to prove that the crime committed was heinous or barbaric. Han reaffirmed that the showing of those videos would automatically make people think “‘Yeah, this was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.’”
Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray testified Tuesday that he considered the death penalty before Tyler Robinson was deemed a suspect. He was unable to recall the specifics of his thought, and when he was asked why he announced the plan early on, he claimed it was because the case already had widespread attention. “The more delay, then it just creates all this unnecessary public speculation,” he said.
