SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court Friday, as his attorneys sought to disqualify prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot. Defence attorneys say the relationship represents a conflict of interest after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson. Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. He has not yet entered a plea. The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said he doubted the disqualification attempt would succeed, and he was unaware of any major case where attorneys had been disqualified for bias. “I would bet against the defence winning this motion,” said Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church told the Associated Press. “They’ve got to a show a substantial amount of prejudice and bias.” The prosecutor’s 18-year-old daughter, who attended the event where Kirk was shot, later texted her father in the Utah County Attorney’s Office to describe the chaotic aftermath, according to court filings and testimony. She did not see the shooting but heard a loud pop, according to an affidavit submitted by prosecutors. Robinson’s attorneys say the close connection between the prosecution team and a person present for Kirk’s killing “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making,” according to court documents. They also argue that the “rush” to seek the death penalty against Robinson is evidence of “strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution and merits the disqualification of the entire team. Defence attorney Richard Novak urged Judge Tony Graf on Friday to bring in the state attorney general’s office in place of Utah County prosecutors to address the alleged conflict of interest. Novak said it was problematic for county prosecutors to litigate on behalf of the state while defending their aptness to remain on the case. Utah County Attorney Richard Gray replied that Novak’s last-minute request was aimed at delaying the case against Robinson. His office has asked Graf to deny the disqualification request. “This is ambush and another stalling tactic,” Gray said. Several thousand people attended the outdoor rally where Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump, was shot as he took questions audience questions. The prosecutor’s daughter, a student at Utah Valley University, texted a family group chat that day saying, “CHARLIE GOT SHOT.” Gray testified Friday that he was with his colleague when he received that text, and the colleague showed it to him. In the weeks after the shooting, the young woman did not miss classes and reported no lasting trauma “aside from being scared at the time,” the affidavit said. Gray emphasized that she was “neither a material witness nor a victim in the case” and that “nearly everything” she knows about Kirk’s killing is mere hearsay. “There is virtually no risk, let alone a significant risk, that it would arouse such emotions in any father-prosecutor as to render him unable to fairly prosecute the case,” he said in a court filing. The deputy county attorney and his daughter are expected to testify Feb. 3. If Utah County prosecutors were disqualified, the case would likely shift to prosecutors in a county with enough resources to handle a big case, such as Salt Lake City, or possibly the state attorney general’s office, said Church, the prosecution council director. Graf would have the final say, he said. Friday’s hearing was briefly interrupted when the defence raised concerns that close-up shots of Robinson livestreamed by a local television station could be analyzed by lip readers to see what he was discussing with his attorneys. That prompted Graf to order the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing. Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson also reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.” At the school where the shooting took place, university president Astrid Tuminez announced Wednesday that she will be stepping down from her role after the semester ends in May. The state university has been working to expand its police force and add security managers after it was criticized for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting. Prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin May 18. ___ Brown reported from Billings, Mo
