A key prosecutor’s family member was at the Utah Valley University campus event where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot — and now the defense team for the accused shooter argues that creates a conflict of interest that means the entire Utah County Attorney’s Office should be banned from handling the criminal case against him.
Tyler Robinson’s defense team last week filed a motion asking a judge to disqualify the Utah County prosecutor’s office from the case. The court papers were initially filed under seal. But on Wednesday evening, the defense attorneys filed a public version that revealed why they felt it would be improper for the Utah County agency to prosecute their client.
Some wording in the filing is redacted, so the public version doesn’t specify which lawyer on the six-person prosecution team has a “personal connection” with a student who was at the Turning Point USA event when Kirk was shot in September.
It also does not disclose the specific relationship between the prosecutor and the student. But it said that the young person texted the “family text group” that day, writing that someone had been shot and added, “I’m okay.” Later, the student texted the same group that it was Kirk who had been shot.
Robinson’s defense attorneys noted in their filing that the prosecutor had been with Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray when these messages were sent, and he “shared those with Mr. Gray in real time.”
That prosecutor’s “familial relationship with a witness presents a concurrent conflict of interest and disqualifies him from participating in the prosecution of this case,” the defense team argued.
They also noted that this prosecutor holds a supervisory role at the county attorney’s office, and argued that creates a conflict so significant that 4th District Judge Tony Graf should ban the entire office from prosecuting the case. There’s been “no effort” to shield this prosecutor from the case so far, they asserted.
Christopher Ballard, a prosecutor on Robinson’s case and the office’s spokesperson, said in an email Wednesday evening that his office disagrees and will file their opposition in court. Robinson’s team, he said, “has not identified any valid basis for disqualification.”
“Despite being present at the event, the individual identified in the motion knew less about the details of the shooting than non-attendees who were following news reports and social media posts,” he said. “The Utah County Attorney based his charging decisions solely on the circumstances of the alleged crimes, without regard for the identity of any specific attendee.”
Robinson’s defense team argued that the relationship between the prosecutor and the student “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making in this case.” The prosecutor, they argued, “cannot serve ‘two masters’ and should not be permitted to do so.”
The prosecutor disclosed the family relationship to the defense after speaking to the entire prosecution team about the potential conflict, they said. And, they alleged in the court filing, this prosecutor went back to campus with an investigator to determine the exact distance from where his family member was to where Kirk was when he shot. (It was 85 feet.)
While Robinson’s attorneys wrote that they didn’t question the prosecutor’s integrity, they argued that the prosecutor’s personal relationship could affect his ability to handle the case ethically.
There’s a “natural instinct” to protect and shield a relative from “past and future harm,” Robinson’s attorneys wrote, adding that the prosecutor and his family member aren’t immune from the trauma that many experienced that day when Kirk was shot.
As exhibits, the defense filed statements from other students who witnessed Kirk being shot. They described a chaotic and traumatic scene, as some who were there worried it would become a mass shooting.
“There is no way to predict at this time what directions this case may take, what critical prosecutorial decisions will be required, and how they may be impacted by the experience Mr. [redacted] had with his [family member], both in real time and after the initial crisis,” the filing reads.
“These influences may be subtle,” it continues. “For example, Mr. [redacted] may be less inclined to believe a witness whose observations are not consistent with those of his [family member].”
Or, the defense team suggested, the prosecutor may make specific strategic decisions to avoid his family member taking the stand at Robinson’s trial.
Attorneys are expected to debate this issue at a hearing in mid-January.
Robinson is facing multiple charges, including aggravated murder, in connection with Kirk’s Sept. 10 death. Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted.