{"id":118,"date":"2026-05-19T20:39:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=118"},"modified":"2026-05-19T20:39:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:39:41","slug":"prosecution-says-it-had-to-counter-absolutely-misleading-info-from-tyler-robinson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=118","title":{"rendered":"Prosecution says it had to counter ‘absolutely misleading’ info from Tyler Robinson"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PROVO \u2014 Did prosecutors break the judge\u2019s pre-trial order by speaking to the media or were they trying to prevent a potential jury pool from being prejudiced by statements made by Tyler Robinson that the state contends were misleading?<\/p>\n

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On Tuesday, 4th District Judge Tony Graf heard arguments about whether the Utah County Attorney\u2019s Office should be held in contempt of court because prosecutor Chris Ballard, the office\u2019s spokesman, went on national TV and sent emails to the media discussing evidence in the capital murder case.<\/p>\n

Robinson, 23, is accused of shooting and killing political activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. He faces a potential death sentence if convicted.<\/p>\n

In March, Robinson\u2019s defense team filed a motion to postpone his preliminary hearing. In that motion, they noted that an initial report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives \u201cindicates that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr. Robinson.\u201d And the defense said it might offer the testimony of the ATF firearm analyst as \u201cexculpatory evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur motion to continue did not mischaracterize the ATF report,\u201d defense attorney Richard Novak argued Tuesday. \u201cWe accurately characterized what is in that ATF report.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that bit of information created a \u201ctidal wave\u201d of media coverage, some of it questioning whether the state\u2019s case had just imploded, deputy Utah County attorney Ryan McBride responded.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Robinson\u2019s team) reported the most prejudicial statement they could find,\u201d McBride said, while adding the statement was “absolutely misleading.”<\/p>\n

Because of that, McBride contends prosecutors had an obligation to their client, the state of Utah, to correct the misinformation that was being spread. The state says Robinson specifically left out a key part of the ATF report that said it could not identify \u201cor exclude\u201d that the bullet fragments recovered at autopsy matched the rifle found near the shooting that investigators believe Robinson used.<\/p>\n

And McBride said the type of bullet fragment recovered automatically eliminated many weapons that it could have been shot from, but did not exclude the one recovered by the police.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy no stretch of the imagination is the testimony of this (ATF) witness \u2018exculpatory,\u2019\u201d McBride said.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say that to correct the mischaracterization of evidence and prevent the potential jury pool in Utah County from being prejudiced by the misleading information from the defense, Ballard appeared on several national news programs and sent a statement from the Utah County Attorney\u2019s Office to several outlets. McBride emphasized that the Utah County Attorney\u2019s Office was only correcting misleading statements made by the defense.<\/p>\n

But Robinson contends Ballard went on a \u201cmedia tour,\u201d which was against the rules, and that the Utah County Attorney\u2019s Office could have relayed its side in a different way. Furthermore, Novak argued that Ballard inappropriately made statements about Robinson\u2019s alleged culpability in the crime.<\/p>\n

McBride countered that Ballard did not make statements of guilt. \u201cThis is nothing more than saying we believe we have adequate evidence. … There\u2019s nothing wrong with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson wants Graf to hold a full evidentiary hearing to determine whether Ballard and his office violated the rules of pretrial publicity.<\/p>\n

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