A Utah judge has decided that the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk can wear civilian clothes but must be restrained in court.

Kirk, 31, an influential ally of President Donald Trump and cofounder of Turning Point USA, was gunned down Sept. 10 while speaking to students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder and other felonies in September after turning himself in to authorities. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Robinson's attorneys asked the court to allow him to appear in civilian clothes without restraints "to maintain the presumption of innocence" and protect his right to a fair trial. The defense noted there was precedent for granting such a request, citing a similar temporary motion granted in the trial of Bryan Kohberger, who was sentenced to life in prison in July for the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022.

Prosecutors opposed that request in a court filing that has not been made public because it contains information regarding security measures in the high-profile case, according to Christopher Ballard, a spokesperson for the Utah County Attorney’s Office. A closed-door hearing on the question was held Oct. 24.

Judge Tony Graf ruled in a brief hearing Oct. 27 that Robinson "shall be dressed as one who is presumed innocent" during all pretrial hearings but denied his request to appear without restraints. Graf said that though Robinson has no criminal history and no record of misconduct while in custody, the charges he faces are "extraordinarily serious," and the emotional nature of the proceedings raises the risk of disruption.

Graf ordered the sheriff's office to use the least restrictive restraints necessary and prohibited the media from taking pictures or video of Robinson's restraints to avoid influencing potential jurors.

Ban on cameras in the courtroom still up in the air

Robinson's defense attorneys challenged claims from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office in a joint filing with prosecutors that concerns about negative publicity arising from Robinson appearing in inmate apparel could be addressed by having the defendant appear remotely for noncritical hearings. Doing so would violate Robinson's rights and make it harder for him to communicate with his defense team, his attorneys argued.

The defense attorneys did, however, say they agreed with the sheriff's office assertion that the court should limit media coverage, specifically photo and video coverage, of the proceedings. There have already been thousands of instances of pretrial publicity "that have relentlessly focused on Mr. Robinson’s demeanor and appearance during his jail-house court appearance and have polluted the waters of justice in this case," the attorneys wrote.

Graf sided with a defense motion arguing the sheriff's office joint filing with the prosecution was procedurally improper but did not make a decision about whether to issue a blanket ban on photography and video recording in the courtroom or hold certain hearings remotely. Graf, who had pledged that the "proceedings will be open to the public," directed attorneys to file separate motions on those questions.

Graf said the court would address the matter again in January.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Nick Penzenstadler

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge allows accused Charlie Kirk shooter to wear street clothes, restraints in court

Reporting by N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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