Judge holds prosecutor in contempt in Charlie Kirk murder case

2 min readUpdated June 29, 2026

A Utah judge ruled Friday that a prosecutor in the Charlie Kirk murder case violated court restrictions on out-of-court statements by commenting publicly on defendant Tyler Robinson's guilt, while stopping short of the defense's request to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment.

Civil contempt was the ruling Graf issued against Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard, who had told media outlets — including TMZ — that prosecutors possessed sufficient evidence to establish Robinson's guilt regardless of the ballistics test results, NBC News reported. In delivering his ruling, Graf said the statements amounted to a communication of the prosecutor's view of Robinson's guilt and therefore created a significant risk of tainting the proceedings, according to CNN.

To mitigate any harm from the comments, Graf indicated that the jury selection process would include steps designed to screen out potentially biased jurors, according to CNN. Robinson's legal team will additionally be entitled to seek reimbursement for attorneys' fees incurred during the contempt proceedings.

The defense had pushed for capital punishment to be eliminated as a sentencing option, but Graf rejected that request, characterizing it in terms echoed by prosecutors as a sanction far exceeding what the violation warranted, according to the AP.

Robinson, 23, faces charges of aggravated murder in connection with the Sept. 10, 2025, fatal shooting of Kirk, a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He has not yet entered a plea.

Update, June 29, 2026: A preliminary hearing in Robinson's case is scheduled for the week of July 6; if the court finds probable cause, the case will proceed to trial. (per CNN)

Utah judge holds prosecutor in contempt in Charlie Kirk murder case, keeps death penalty in play

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