The hearing before Fourth District Judge Tony Graf centered on a motion by Robinson’s legal team to ban cameras, still photographers, and microphones from future proceedings.
Kirk was fatally shot while he was speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem in September.
Defense witness Bryan Edelman, a trial consultant and co-founder of Trial Innovations who previously worked on the Bryan Kohberger case in Idaho, presented results from a poll of 200 jury-eligible residents in Utah County.
According to Edelman, 99% of those polled were aware of the case, 64% already believed Robinson is guilty based on media reports, more than 50% said Robinson would have a difficult time convincing them of his innocence, 35% believed he should receive the death penalty, and 65% held a somewhat or very negative opinion of him.
Defense media “expert” claims survey polling Utah county residents regarding Charlie Kirk assassination shows defendant Tyler Robinson would not have a fair trial, citing media coverage:
99% of respondents aware of assassination.
64% believe Robinson is guilty of murder.
7% of…pic.twitter.com/OwSX9HbqP6
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial)April 17, 2026
Edelman told the court that the most prejudicial coverage has been “emotional pretrial publicity” focused on the defendant’s character, including sensationalized reports, body-language analyses speculating that Robinson lacks emotion or empathy, and repeated airings of an initial press conference.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
