Blow for Charlie Kirk prosecutors as judge BACKS murder suspect Tyler Robinson's team in ruling... but refuse request to take death penalty off table

By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:11, 26 June 2026 | Updated: 21:14, 26 June 2026 A prosecutor who will try the man charged with murdering conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been held in contempt by the judge overseeing the case. Utah County Prosecutor Christopher Ballard was found in 'civil contempt' by Judge Tony Graf on Friday after mounting a 'media tour' to talk about ballistic evidence in the case.  But there was bad news for Robinson's team too, after Judge Graf refused to remove the possibility of the suspect facing the death penalty, saying such a sanction would have been 'grossly disproportionate' to the contempt. Ballard spoke to TMZ and other outlets in March to push back on a Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco report that said the bullet which killed Kirk in September 2025 could not definitively be matched to the rifle prosecutors accuse Tyler Robinson of using. Judge Graf said Ballard was within his rights to do that - but that he then went too far by then insisting he had substantial evidence that proved Robinson's guilt.  The ATF report that prompted the contempt concluded that the bullet jacket fragment 'could not be identified or excluded' as having been fired from Robinson's rifle and rendered the result 'inconclusive,' court records showed.  Tyler Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder in the September 10 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. The 23-year-old has not yet entered a plea Robinson's lawyers referenced the 'inconclusive' ATF report in a motion to vacate or postpone their client's preliminary hearing. 'Regarding the firearm evidence, the defense has been provided with an ATF summary report which indicates that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr Robinson,' the defense wrote. 'Although the State has not indicated an intent to produce this report at the preliminary hearing, the defense may very well decide to offer the testimony of the ATF firearm analyst as exculpatory evidence.'  Ballard pushed back on reporting about the 'inconclusive' bullet identification - but then added that he had 'ample evidence to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyler Robinson committed this murder.'   The judge said that remark created a 'substantial likelihood' of potential jurors being prejudiced. He ruled that it violated a previous gag order he imposed limiting what prosecutors and defense attorneys could say about the case outside court.  Judge Graf added that the comments were not made out of any malicious desire by prosecutors to taint the jury pool, and that his ruling had nothing to do with the charges or Robinson's guilt. 'Its sole purpose is enforcement of a narrowly tailored publicity order governing attorney conduct,' Graf said. Kirk was shot in the neck while addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University. He is seen at the event before shots rang out A judge on Friday ruled that Utah County prosecutor Christopher Ballard was in 'civil contempt' of court over comments he made to the press about the case Judge Graf said the prosecutor's contempt could be resolved through careful screening of potential jurors to weed out those with a potential bias in favor of or against Robinson.   Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson's was found on the trigger of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle. Attorneys on both sides have raised concerns that the misinformation and extensive media attention could taint the potential jury pool. Robinson is charged with aggravated murder in the September 10 assassination of Kirk, who was shot in the neck while addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University. The 23-year-old has not yet entered a plea.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.