Lawyers for the accused assassin of Charlie Kirk want the prosecution disqualified because a child of one member of the Utah County Attorney’s Office was present when Kirk was killed.
The conservative Christian activist and founder of Turning Point USA was killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with Kirk’s murder.
Defense attorney Richard Novak said that before other items at the hearing could be discussed, a December motion to disqualify the prosecutors needed to be granted, according to NBC.
Prosecutors called the demand “a delay tactic.”
Tyler Robinson is in court right now, his defense team is trying to delay, they want this court to adjourn today so defense attys can make pleadings to the State’s Atty General’s Office, instead of this County prosecution team.
Prosecutors respond that this is another delaying… pic.twitter.com/CZB0qgvT4A— Eva Knott (@EvaKnott) January 16, 2026
Novak argued that until the court decides on his request, the attorney involved should be taken off the Robinson case.
Novak’s claim is that the Utah County Attorney’s Office has a conflict of interest and should not even be involved in discussing his motion to disqualify it. He wants the Utah Attorney General’s Office to respond to the motion, according to KSL-TV.
The motion said that the 18-year-old family member texted the member of the office when the shooting took place, and said emotional trauma could be influencing the prosecution’s decisions, including the decision to seek the death penalty.
Robinson appeared calm in court, dressed in a light blue shirt and tie, as the motion was debated before Judge Tony Graf, who recessed the hearing to consider the request, according to CNN.
In an Oct. 24 closed hearing, Novak said that “law enforcement were actually deployed to the area with her safety and status in mind.”
The daughter was about 85 feet from Kirk, the documents said.
The County Attorney’s Office said the child “did not see Charlie get shot,” and “did not see anyone” with a gun, in or out of the crowd.
The individual will not be a witness because, according to a filing, what the child “knows about the actual homicide is hearsay.”
🚨ACCUSED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN TYLER ROBINSON IN COURT
His defense team is arguing for the entire Utah County Attorney’s Office to be disqualified from prosecuting the case — over an alleged conflict of interest.
Criminal Defense Attorney @JoshuaRitterESQ weighs in. pic.twitter.com/J45mpGxL9r
— The Will Cain Show (@WillCainShow) January 16, 2026
As such, the document filed with the court argued, the individuals has no conflict of interest, and neither does the County Attorney’s Office.
However, the defense argued that “the rush to seek death in this case evidences strong emotional reactions” by prosecutors.
Prosecutors responded that “there is nothing unusual or untoward about filing a death penalty notice before a preliminary hearing.”
The prosecution filing said the circumstances of the incident “justify the death penalty,” and to delay taking a stand on the death penalty “would have been unnecessarily unsettling and painful to Charlie Kirk’s loved ones and does not promote justice for anyone.”
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