Jan. 16 (UPI) — Attorneys for alleged Charlie Kirk murderer Tyler Robinson on Friday argued that a prosecutor should be removed from the case due to a claimed conflict of interest.
Robinson, 22, and his legal team were in the Fourth Judicial District Court to seek the removal of an unnamed prosecutor because his daughter attended the Sept. 10 Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem when Kirk was shot and killed.
The daughter also is a potential witness against Robinson and was about 85 feet from Kirk when he was shot, and the Utah County Attorney’s Office sent law enforcement to protect her upon learning of the shooting, Robinson’s attorneys argued during an Oct. 24 hearing.
They moved to remove the prosecutor from the case and at the very least want him off the case until the motion is either approved or denied.
The prosecutor and his daughter are not “immune to [the] trauma” arising from the shooting, which could lead the prosecutor to make personal rather than professional decisions, Robinson said, as reported by KTVX.
The prosecutors dismissed Robinson’s claim, saying the prosecutor’s daughter is an adult and there is no conflict of interest in his remaining on the case.
The young woman reacted to the shooting in a “comparatively minor emotional” manner compared to those who were close to Kirk when the shooting occurred, the prosecutors argued.
She has no personal knowledge of the murder, they argued, and is just one of thousands of witnesses who attended the event and saw the shooting unfold.
They also said Robinson’s attorneys have not provided any evidence to support their claim of a conflict of interest.
Robinson’s defense attorneys moved to have the court send its motion to the Utah Attorney General’s Office instead of continuing with Friday’s motion hearing.
That request caused an about 45-minute delay in the motion hearing, and Judge Tony Graf asked the defense and prosecution if an evidentiary hearing with witnesses should be scheduled to further litigate the motion.
Graf said there is insufficient evidence to refer the case to the Utah attorney general, and Robinson’s attorneys asked that he allow more evidence to be entered until the motion is decided.
The motion hearing ended with no ruling given, but an evidentiary hearing could be scheduled and include witnesses before Graf rules on the motion to remove the prosecutor from the case.