Prosecutor in Charlie Kirk case denied conflict

A Utah county attorney prosecuting the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk rejected defense claims that his office has a conflict of interest and should be disqualified from the case.



At a hearing in Provo, Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray defended his office's ⁠decision to seek the death penalty for the 22-year-old suspect, Tyler Robinson, who is charged with seven criminal counts in the shooting death of Kirk at a Utah college campus last year.



Defense attorneys have argued that the decision to seek the death penalty for Robinson less than a week after Kirk's death showed a "strong emotional reaction" by one of Gray's senior prosecutors, whose 18-year-old daughter witnessed the September 10 killing.



Testifying before District Court ⁠Judge Tony Graf, Gray said he relied on his 25 years of knowledge about conflicts of interest to decide there was no risk of bias in his office prosecuting the case.



Robinson, charged with aggravated murder, witness tampering and obstruction of justice, will ⁠not enter a plea until after a preliminary hearing, tentatively scheduled for mid-May.