A Utah County prosecutor sent a series of warnings to government officials — including Gov. Spencer Cox — in the days after Tyler Robinson was arrested in the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

Public statements by officials about Robinson’s character or what punishment they feel is right, the prosecutor cautioned, could create legal problems for the case.

A statement by Cox had made him “nervous,” Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride wrote to the governor’s office on Sept. 14.

The prosecution team didn’t send these warnings to some of the loudest voices advocating for a certain punishment for Robinson, such as Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who has twice called for Robinson to be executed publicly in posts on X.

The correspondence, included as exhibits in court filings last week, was submitted as part of prosecutors’ opposition to Robinson’s continued campaign to bar cameras from the courtroom.

The 22-year-old’s defense team argues that unchecked public commentary from government officials has fueled “prejudicial pretrial publicity,” which will make it harder to find impartial jurors before trial.

McBride sent an email to the governor’s communications director on Sept. 14, saying that he saw a news segment which gave him concern, writing: “A statement that the suspect is not cooperating makes me nervous. This is because, under the Constitution, a person’s assertion of their rights cannot be held against them. Better to avoid that topic if possible and have a one-liner response ready if the question is asked.”

That email came the same day that Cox appeared on ABC’s Sunday morning program, “This Week,” where the governor said that Robinson had not confessed to authorities and is “not cooperating.” Cox further noted that “all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that’s very important.”

McBride also wrote to other local police, Utah Valley University officials and the FBI to warn them that speaking about Robinson’s character, implying that he was guilty or offering their opinion on a “proper punishment” could cause delays — or worse — for the prosecution.

“I know the public has an extraordinary interest in this case and leaders have the duty to ensure our citizenry know they are safe from the shooter,” he wrote in one email. “The leaders of our state and country have every right and expectation to speak about this case.”

“But it has to be done right,” he continued. “We will likely have to deal with every public statement via time-consuming litigation that is made outside of the parameters we have explained. Improper statements will at the least cost us time in getting to trial. At worst, they could have much graver consequences to the case.”

Robinson’s defense team has filed their motion trying to ban cameras in the courtroom under seal, but prosecutors outlined in their public response one argument the defense has raised: That prosecutors have failed to rein in public statements from law enforcement and others, which has contributed to prejudicial pretrial publicity.

McBride noted in his emails to government officials that his office has an ethical obligation to prevent investigators, law enforcement and others from making public statements that could likely affect a defendant’s ability to receive a fair trial.

The prosecutor didn’t ask government officials to avoid speaking about the case, but advised them to stick to what’s in the public court record. In one email to the Washington County Sheriff, who gave a press conference about Robinson turning himself into his department, McBride wrote in all caps: “DO NOT MENTION THAT ROBINSON INVOKED HIS FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHT OR MAKE COMMENTS ON HIS CHARACTER OR YOUR BELIEF OF HIS GUILT.”

Robinson has not been convicted. He is facing multiple charges, including aggravated murder, in connection with Kirk’s death. Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty if he is found guilty.

In a post last month, Lee shared a post about Robinson’s court hearings and added, “Tyler Robinson publicly executed Charlie Kirk. Tyler Robinson should be publicly executed.”

Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard, who is a spokesperson for his office, said Monday that prosecutors did not send similar letters to elected officials like Lee or President Donald Trump — who has publicly said that he hopes Robinson gets the death penalty — because “they are not part of the prosecution team and we bear no responsibility for what they say.”

“We included Gov. Cox in our batch of letters because he was making several public statements at the time,” Ballard wrote in an email. “We wrote to his office, even though he is not part of the prosecution team, out of an abundance of caution and as part of our sincere efforts to caution others about making statements that could potentially prejudice the Defendant’s right to a fair trial.”

Cox is a former lawyer, but he is not currently licensed and describes himself as a “recovering attorney.”

Robinson’s defense team has often raised concerns in court filings that the chorus of elected officials who have offered their opinion about the case could affect their ability to find fair jurors.

In their most recent filing on Monday, they note Lee’s comment specifically, saying he “publicly pronounced both the verdict and punishment” in calling for a public execution. They noted that not only is Lee a United States senator, but a licensed attorney who has been a federal prosecutor, counsel for a former Utah governor and law clerk to a Supreme Court justice.

While Utah does have the death penalty, its executions are not done in public and state law limits who can witness the condemned’s death.

Robinson is expected to be in court on Tuesday, where 4th District Judge Tony Graf is expected to hear testimony as he weighs a defense motion seeking to ban the Utah County attorney’s office from the case.

A key prosecutor’s adult child was at the Utah Valley University campus event where Kirk was fatally shot. Robinson’s defense team argues that there have been no efforts to wall that prosecutor off from the case, and it creates such a conflict of interest that the entire office should be banned from handling the criminal case against him.

Gray, the Utah County attorney, disagrees and argues they can handle the case fairly.