Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
The 22-year-old Utah Man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk Due to return to court on Friday, his lawyers are seeking to disqualify the prosecutor from the case over an alleged conflict of interest.
Tyler Robinson is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, a few miles north of Provo Courthouse. Prosecutors with the Utah County Attorney’s Office plan to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted. Robinson has yet to enter a plea.
The deputy county attorney’s son, an 18-year-old child, attended the school event where Kirk was shot. The child, whose name is redacted in court documents, later texted his father to the Utah County Attorney’s Office describing the chaotic events surrounding the shooting, prosecutors and defense attorneys filed.
Defense attorneys said the personal relationship was a conflict of interest that “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making in this case,” according to court documents. They also argued that the “rush” to seek the death penalty against Robinson was evidence of a “strong emotional reaction” by prosecutors that warranted the disqualification of the entire team.
Thousands attend outdoor rally featuring Turning Point co-founder Kirk USA Who helped mobilize young people to vote for president Donald Trumpwas shot while he was answering audience questions. The deputy county attorney’s child did not see the shooting, according to testimony filed by prosecutors.
“As the second person in line was talking to Charlie, I looked around the crowd and suddenly heard a loud noise, like a bang. Someone yelled, ‘He’s been shot,'” the child said in the affidavit.
The child later texted in the family group chat that “Charlie got shot.” The child did not miss classes or other activities after the shooting and did not report any lasting trauma “other than being scared at the time,” the affidavit states.
Prosecutors have asked District Judge Tony Graf to deny the disqualification request.
“There is virtually no risk, much less a significant risk, in this case that any father’s prosecutor would be so emotionally charged as to prevent him from impartially prosecuting this case,” Utah State Attorney Jeffrey Gray said in a filing.
Gray also said the child was “neither a material witness nor a victim in the case” and that “almost everything” the man knew about the actual homicide was hearsay.
The Associated Press left email and phone messages with Robinson’s defense attorney, Kathryn Nester.
Prosecutors said text messages and DNA evidence Linking Robinson to the murders. Robinson reportedly texted his romantic partner that he was targeting Kirk because he “had enough of the hate.”
During recent hearings, Robinson’s legal team pushed for restrictions on media coverage in the high-profile case. Graf barred the media from publishing photos, videos and live broadcasts showing Robinson being restrained to help protect his presumption of innocence ahead of trial.
The judge has not yet ruled on the defense’s suggestion that cameras be banned from the courtroom.
Prosecutors are expected to lay out the charges against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin on May 18.
___
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.