politics
Utah Judge Orders Hearing on Prosecutor Media Comments in Murder Case
A Utah judge will hold an evidentiary hearing Friday to examine whether prosecutors violated a gag order by speaking to media outlets about the case against a man accused of killing a conservative political activist. Defense attorneys requested the review after statements appeared on TMZ and Fox News.
The HillAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
A Utah judge will hold an evidentiary hearing Friday to determine whether prosecutors violated a gag order by commenting to media outlets about the criminal case against a man accused of killing conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. Defense attorneys asked the judge to investigate statements made by a deputy county attorney to TMZ and Fox News.
The attorneys described the comments as contempt of court and requested that prosecutors turn over all internal communications about media outreach.
The judge ruled that the defense had made a sufficient preliminary showing that prosecutors might have violated the pretrial publicity rule. Prosecutors responded that a hearing is unnecessary and that the judge should evaluate the statements themselves. Prosecutors also stated they had a duty to respond to what they viewed as misleading media coverage to protect the jury pool.
Background The defendant, 23, faces charges including aggravated murder for the September shooting on the Utah Valley University campus. The judge previously denied a defense request to close parts of an upcoming preliminary hearing, citing the public’s presumptive right of access to court proceedings.
The evidentiary hearing is scheduled to examine whether any violations were knowing and intentional.
