A judge on Monday ruled that a secret hearing in the criminal case against alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson will be made public by the end of the day, reported the New York Post.
The hearing, which was held in October, was conducted in private, away from the press and the public, and centered on whether Robinson must be shackled during court proceedings.
Utah Judge Tony Graf on Monday ruled that a transcript and audio recordings from the hearing could be released to the public in a redacted form. He noted that it would take roughly two weeks to redact and release the audio recording.
Kirk, 31, was killed on Sept. 10 when a bullet struck him in the neck in front of a crowd of thousands during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.
He was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that has grown into one of the most visible and active youth political groups in the U.S., with thousands of campus chapters and frequent national events and conferences designed to educate and engage young conservatives.
Robinson, 22, has been charged by Utah County prosecutors with multiple felony counts related to the shooting in which Kirk was killed, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and violent offense committed in the presence of a child.
Defense attorneys for Robinson in early October requested that he be allowed to appear in court in civilian clothes and without restraints, to prevent any bias against him among potential jurors.
Days after an Oct. 24 closed-door hearing on the matter, Graf ruled that Robinson could appear in civilian clothes but must wear restraints. Utah court rules require defendants who are in custody to be restrained unless otherwise ordered.
Graf wrote in an Oct. 27 order that restraints for Robinson would protect the safety of court staff and the defendant by letting him be quickly secured if court proceedings were disrupted.
But the judge said Monday that public transparency was "foundational" to the judicial system, before ordering details of the closed hearing be released. The judge ordered limited redactions to remove discussions of security protocols in the closely watched case.
Lawyers for the media wrote in recent filings that an open court "safeguards the integrity of the fact-finding process" while fostering public confidence in judicial proceedings. Criminal cases in the U.S. have long been open to the public, which the attorneys argued is proof that trials can be conducted fairly without restricting reporters.
Graf has said in a separate order that Robinson's restraints could not be shown by media outlets that publish photographs of court proceedings or broadcast them.
Graf briefly stopped a media livestream of a hearing earlier this month and ordered the camera be moved after Robinson's attorneys said the stream showed the defendant's shackles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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