A Utah judge ruled Monday that the man charged with fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk can wear civilian clothes during pretrial hearings.
But the judge denied a request from attorneys for Tyler Robinson, 22, that sought to bar authorities from requiring him to wear restraints in court.
“Mr. Robinson’s right to the presumption of innocence outweighs the minimal inconvenience of permitting civilian attire, and Mr. Robinson shall be dressed as one who is presumed innocent,” Utah Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf Jr. said in a ruling from the bench.
Graf added that while Robinson has no previous criminal history or incidents of misconduct while in custody, he described the charges against the defendant as “extraordinarily serious” and said the emotional nature of the case raises the risk of disruption.
Given those factors, Graf said, he denied the motion for Robinson to appear without shackles.
Attorneys for Robinson had argued that his appearance is the subject of “endless scrutiny” and could unfairly influence a potential jury.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors had agreed that Robinson could appear at trial in civilian clothes and concealed restraints, Graf said.
Robinson was charged with aggravated murder and other crimes in Kirk’s Sept. 10 killing at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors have said they will pursue the death penalty.
Robinson has not entered a plea on the charges. He appeared at Monday’s hearing via an audio-only feed and responded in the affirmative when Graf asked if he could hear the proceedings.
Prosecutors have said Robinson targeted Kirk, the polarizing and influential co-founder of Turning Point USA, for his “political expression” during an event hosted by the conservative youth advocacy group at the university campus.
Charging documents cited a series of purported text messages between Robinson and his roommate that appeared to link him to the fatal shooting. When the roommate asked Robinson why he shot Kirk, according to the messages, Robinson responded: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hatred can’t be negotiated out.”
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