A preliminary hearing in Utah this week will help a judge decide whether Tyler Robinson will stand trial for the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — but then prosecutors spent their third day focused less on the evidence itself and more on whether the public should hear it.
Three days into the preliminary hearing, prosecutors have largely focused on surveillance video, forensic evidence, and testimony from investigators. But much of Wednesday was consumed by an argument over a single piece of evidence: a recorded interview with Robinson's partner and roommate.
Richard Novak, Robinson's attorney, argued prosecutors wanted to publicly play what they describe as an admission of guilt — and he said this could jeopardize Robinson's right to an impartial jury in the future.
Novak also argued the recording consisted largely of questioning by Ryan McBride, chief of the General Crimes Division at the Utah County Attorney's Office, instead of the witness's own account.
“There are many portions of it, which are not the statement of (Robinson's partner)," Novak said. "They're Mr. McBride testifying on video.”
Novak also asked the judge to redact large portions of the interview and suggested parts of the discussion happen behind closed doors to avoid exposing potential jurors to disputed evidence.
Utah County prosecutor Lauren Hunt pushed back.
“This is a preliminary hearing to the court," she said. "It's not to the jury. The court is fully capable of disregarding any statement it determines exceeds the proper scope.”
The dispute quickly expanded beyond the two sides.
Media attorneys argued that closing any portion of the hearing would undermine the public's ability to understand one of the prosecution's key pieces of evidence.
Then, in a rare moment, Jeffrey Nyman, the attorney representing Kirk's family, asked to address the court directly.
“I’ve been very hesitant to speak up at these proceedings," he said, "but I feel as if we need to … The Kirk family believes strongly that if the evidence is being admitted in this preliminary hearing, it should be made public for the world to see … To not be transparent here — to not be open, to not let the world see what happened — will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system.”
In response, District Court Judge Tony Graf made a decision he said would balance transparency with Robinson's right to a fair trial.
The judge said he would allow most of the interview to be played publicly while withholding two portions from the courtroom and broadcast audience.
The preliminary hearing is expected to continue through Friday, July 10. The judge will then decide whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence for the case to move to trial.
