Judge Makes Major Ruling In Charlie Kirk Murder Case

Utah Fourth District Judge Tony Graf denied a request on Tuesday to disqualify the prosecutors in the murder case of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson.

Robinson’s attorneys argued that Chad Grunander, a chief deputy attorney at the Utah Attorney’s Office, had a conflict of interest since his daughter was present when Kirk was killed. Graf denied the request, arguing that Grunander’s daughter was not harmed or interviewed by law enforcement in connection to the assassination.

“Because defendant has not established a factual basis for a finding of conflict of interest or an objective appearance of impropriety rising to a constitutional concern, his motion is respectfully denied,” Graf said. 

The court held evidentiary hearings on Jan. 16 and Feb. 3 and found no evidence of a conflict of interest, Graf said. He said that Grundander’s daughter faced no trauma or changes to her routine as a result of witnessing the shooting of Kirk on Sept. 10, 2025.

“She, along with other members of the crowd, ran out of the courtyard into a nearby building. Daughter felt afraid for her life while she was running, but felt better when she reached the building. Daughter texted her father. She told him someone was shot. She heard it was Charlie Kirk. She heard the gunshots and she was okay. Following the incident, daughter had not experienced any trauma, emotional difficulty, or changes to her routine,” Graf said. 

“Daughter was not interviewed by any member of law enforcement or the prosecution team until after the current motion was filed. When Mr. Grunander received the text messages from daughter, he was startled and concerned for her welfare, but he felt better when she notified him saying she was okay,” Graf continued. 

Defense attorney Richard Novak argued on Jan. 16 that the daughter’s presence “raise[d] serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making in this case.”

Robinson was charged with with one count of aggravated murder, one count of felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of obstruction of justice for hiding the rifle and discarding his clothing, two counts of witness tampering for instructing a roommate to delete texts and one count of committing a violent offense in front of children. Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray confirmed in September that prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.

Kirk’s alleged assassin has been accused of climbing onto a rooftop near Utah Valley University and fatally shooting Kirk in the neck. Two days after the shooting, Robinson’s parents recognized him in security footage released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and confronted him. Robinson confessed and threatened to commit suicide, which prompted his father to contact a youth pastor who had previously been a law enforcement official.

The youth pastor contacted Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby, who later told the press that they promised Robinson a “peaceful” surrender as a condition for turning himself in.

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