Judge BANS Tyler Robinson evidence from being shown to public after ‘confession letter’ was accidentally aired on livestream: Live updates
Written by: KATRINA SCHOLLENBERGER, HEAD OF USA LIVE NEWS, and RACHEL BOWMAN, SENIOR USA NEWS CORRESPONDENT, and WILL POTTER, SENIOR USA NEWS CORRESPONDENT
Updated:
Erika Kirk and the media were dealt a major blow after the judge at Tyler Robinson’s trial ruled that evidence would no longer be shown on camera after the alleged confession note was accidentally shown.
A dramatic weeklong evidentiary hearing is underway for Robinson, 23, who faces the death penalty if convicted of killing Charlie Kirk in front of thousands of people at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.
On Friday, Judge Tony Graf ruled that the exhibits would no longer be shown to the media at today’s hearing, after Robinson’s confession note was mistakenly shown on Thursday.
It comes after Robinson’s defense lawyer sparked backlash during crucial pre-trial evidence hearings by targeting Kirk’s widow, Erika, with a sharp remark that she was ‘adept at holding press conferences’.
The moment comes as the Kirk family pushes for ‘full transparency’ in Robinson’s hearings; as they called on the judge to release unredacted versions of evidence, testimony and surveillance footage presented by prosecutors.
Robinson’s attorney, Michael Burt, argued that certain evidence should be withheld from the public to prevent a potential jury pool from being tainted, leading him to attack Erika for previously appearing to the media about her husband’s September 2025 assassination.
‘I would like to point out to the court that Ms Kirk was quite adept at holding press conferences where she revealed the evidence,’ he said.
‘He stated that he is the state’s attorney… He is completely free to go out and hold press conferences and let the world know what he thinks the evidence is.’
The remarks led Kirk’s family lawyer to condemn Burt’s claim as a ‘complete distortion of reality’ and sparked backlash on social media; Burt was branded ‘absolutely ugly’.
Prosecutors presented a trove of evidence they said implicated Robinson in the assassination, including DNA found on a towel wrapped in the murder weapon, some alleged confessions and bombshell testimony from his former roommate and transgender lover Lance Twiggs.
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The judge ruled that the exhibits should no longer be shown to the media
Judge Tony Graf ruled that the exhibits will no longer be shown to the media at today’s hearing after a confession note allegedly belonging to Tyler Robinson was accidentally shown on Thursday.
He acknowledged that his previous decision prohibiting the publication of the note had been violated.
However, he rejected the defense’s request to remove the cameras completely. He banned cameras from recording any of today’s exhibits.
Graf has not ruled on cameras in the courtroom for the Sept. 1 hearing.
Court shown zoomed in on video
The court was shown zoomed-in security camera footage of Charlie Kirk’s murder suspect Tyler Robinson allegedly seen running from the roof, to be played in court on Friday.
However, after Judge Tony Graf decided that the works exhibited at today’s hearing would no longer be shown to the media, the video was not released and was not made available to the public.
He had previously blocked the zoomed-in video from being shown on the grounds that it had been ‘altered’.
The unaltered video has been shown before.
Tyler Robinson refused to testify
Tyler Robinson’s defense attorney told the judge that he was told his client could testify, but his attorneys advised him not to and he decided not to.
Judge Tony Graf then asked Robinson if he agreed, and Robinson just nodded.
ATF forensic biologist says DNA found on rifle is ‘a trillion times’ more likely to belong to Robinson
Under cross-examination by the prosecution, ATF forensic biologist Caitlin Oliver said the DNA found on the rifle was “at least a trillion times more likely to originate from Tyler Robinson than from anyone else.”
Defense questions ATF forensic biologist
The defense questions ATF forensic biologist Caitlin Oliver about DNA evidence.
Items tested for DNA included a towel and rifle found in a wooded area near the Utah Valley University campus after the shooting, as well as a rotating tool that Tyler Robinson’s roommate told investigators the defendant used to write messages on bullets.
The prosecution reacted harshly to the defense’s ‘long and protracted’ questioning
Before beginning the witness’s testimony on Friday, the prosecution criticized the defense for its questioning.
‘The evidence is overwhelming. Devastating. The question needs to be asked: What is the point of continuing the statement if it is going to be long and drawn out?’ said the prosecutor.
The defense responded by saying they were not sure what the prosecution wanted and said it was now too late for the prosecution to make a permanent objection to the witness testimony.
Tyler Robinson seen in court
Tyler Robinson appeared in court on the fifth day of his pre-trial hearing.
He has not yet made a defence.
Judge Graf gives timeline on note screen
Judge Tony Graf laid out a timeline for when the alleged confession note would be exhibited in court Thursday.
He said the note was displayed for about three seconds. No one mentioned the note until the judge said so.
The contents of the note were already made public by the search warrant and were read into the record during the hearing, Graf said.
The entire note was not shown on the screen.
Why does Megyn Kelly say Robinson put a hammer to her lover’s case?
Megyn Kelly claimed that Tyler Robinson’s trans girlfriend Lance Twiggs dealt a hammer blow to the Charlie Kirk murder suspect.
Zoom footage of Charlie Kirk murder suspect running away will be played in court today
Surveillance footage allegedly showing Charlie Kirk’s murder suspect Tyler Robinson running from a rooftop will be played in court on Friday after it was blocked by a judge on the grounds that it had been ‘altered’.
Judge Tony Graf said at the end of Thursday’s hearing that, at the request of Kirk’s family, he would allow an altered version of campus surveillance video to be shown in the courtroom, which prosecutors said showed Robinson crawling to a rooftop ‘sniper perch’ before shooting Kirk.
The unaltered video has been shown before.
The court takes a short recess
Judge Tony Graf took a five-minute recess to review the moment the alleged confession note was made public.
Prosecutors defended mistakenly showing notes
The prosecution expressed concerns about the defense’s brief showing of the alleged confession in court.
“I think everyone involved here took appropriate action as quickly as possible,” said prosecutor Ryan McBride.
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