Utah County Attorney’s Office will continue prosecuting Tyler Robinson, judge rules
Feb 24, 2026, 11:23 AM
Tyler Robinson sits with his attorneys in a hearing on Jan. 16. The Utah Supreme Court denied Tyler Robinson's appeal request on Thursday. (John Eulberg)
(John Eulberg)
PROVO — The Utah County Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute the Tyler Robinson in his capital murder case.
On Tuesday, 4th District Judge Tony Graf ruled that he found no conflict of interest with a daughter of Chad Grunander — the chief deputy in the Utah County Attorney’s Office — being at the event where Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
Robinson, 22, is charged with capital murder and faces a possible death sentence if convicted of assassinating Kirk, 31, on Sept. 10 on the campus of Utah Valley University during one of Kirk’s Turning Point USA rallies before an estimated 3,000 people.
A daughter of Grunander, a UVU student, was at the event and texted her family, including her father, in a group chat almost immediately thereafter, saying “someone” had been shot.
Watch the court hearing live here:
During a hearing on Feb. 3, 4th District Judge Tony Graf heard arguments from both sides regarding the disqualification question.
Grunander, his daughter and Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray all testified that the girl had no influence on any of the decisions made regarding the prosecution of Robinson, including the decision to seek the death penalty. Prosecutors argued that there were so many witnesses to Kirk’s shooting and so many videos collected following the killing — many of which provide stronger evidence than what the daughter, who was standing in the back, would be able to give — that she had “zero” influence on the state’s case.
“The reality is … she did not see Charlie Kirk get shot. She’s just not a witness,” deputy Utah County attorney Ryan McBride said. “As a result, there’s really no conflict here.”
Robinson, however, claims Gray delayed telling defense attorneys about the possible conflict and handled the entire situation in “an incredibly casual way.”
“The issue here is that the most experienced and most senior prosecutor in the office, other than the elected county attorney, should have been walled off from this prosecution until this court had an opportunity to consider whether disqualification is necessary … but now it’s too late,” defense attorney Richard Novak argued.
In his decision, Graf agreed with prosecutors that the decision to seek the death penalty was not influenced by Grunanders’s loyalty to his daughter, but rather because it was appropriate in this case.
“She has no uniquely relevant testimony to give,” Graf said, noting the numerous other witnesses to Kirk’s killing at the videos provided.
This story will be updated.
