U.S. Sen. Mike Lee called for the public execution of Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of killing conservative commentator Charlie Kirk last year.
Lee shared a Fox News story on X Monday night about Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erica Kirk, pushing for a speedy trial.
“Execute Tyler Robinson,” the Utah senator wrote. “In public.”
It is not the first time Lee has called for Robinson’s public execution.
In a post last Friday, Lee shared a post about Robinson’s court hearings and added, “Tyler Robinson publicly executed Charlie Kirk. Tyler Robinson should be publicly executed.”
Lee did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday on his posts and whether the remarks could taint the ongoing court process.
[READ: Erika Kirk asks judge for ‘speedy trial’ against accused killer of her husband, Charlie Kirk]
Robinson’s defense team has raised concerns that the chorus of elected officials who have offered their opinion about the case has amounted to “prejudicial pretrial publicity” that could affect their ability to find fair jurors for his trial.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
They point to multiple statements, such as when President Donald Trump said shortly after Robinson was arrested that he hoped the Utah man would be found guilty and added, “I hope he gets the death penalty.”
They also noted that Gov. Spencer Cox began a press conference announcing their client’s arrest by saying, “WE GOT HIM,” and, they noted, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on Fox News side-by-side with Robinson’s booking photo, during a segment where Bondi commented that the death penalty is “very real in Utah” and “they still have the firing squad in Utah.”
The firing squad is only an execution option in Utah for modern-day defendants if state officials can’t obtain lethal injection drugs.
Asked about Lee’s comments Tuesday, Cox said he is a “big fan” of Utah’s justice system and that he’s “excited to see that process play out in every way.”
He did not, he said, see any reason to change the state’s approach in Robinson’s case.
“I’ve said before we have the death penalty for a reason,” the governor told The Salt Lake Tribune. “It should be used very, very sparingly, and I personally believe this is one of those areas where it does make sense.”
But, the governor added, “I also don’t think we need to glorify death any more than we already do.”
Asked if Lee was getting ahead of himself by calling for an execution with the trial ongoing, Cox said, “Yeah, again, we’ll let this play out.”
A trial date for Robinson has not yet been set.
This story is breaking and will be updated.