The man accused of assassinating political activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college in September made his first public in-person court appearance on Thursday.

Tyler Robinson had previously attended his hearings via a video feed from the Utah County jail. He smiled as he chatted with his legal team in the courtroom ahead of the hearing. He faces aggravated murder charges for the killing of the Turning Point USA founder in front of a crowd of thousands of people at Utah Valley University.

Mr. Robinson arrived with restraints on his wrist and ankles but the judge blocked the press from taking photos or video of the restraints after defense lawyers told the judge that the images could influence future jurors.

Mr. Robinson wore a blue, button down dress shirt with a patterned tie after the judge allowed him to change from his jail outfit into street clothes for court appearances. His parents and brother were in the courtroom. Mr. Robinson smiled at his family members as his mother wiped tears from her eyes.

Mr. Robinson’s legal team and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office have asked the judge to ban cameras in the courtroom claiming it could interfere with his right to a fair trial. Several media organizations asked to allow the cameras to stay. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, previously said, “We deserve to have cameras in there.” 

The case has drawn widespread interest with even President Trump commenting on Mr. Robinson’s arrest, saying, “I hope he gets the death penalty.”

Soon after the hearing started, Judge Tony Graf ordered the press and people in the gallery — including Mr. Robinson’s parents — out of the court to debate whether to release details of a previous hearing in connection with the trial that had been held in private.

The public portion of the hearing resumed after the private hearing stretched more than 2-and-a-half hours.

The defense team then told the judge that a press camera showed Mr. Robinson’s shackles were shown at one point, which was a violation of the judge’s order. The defense also claimed a camera captured writing on one of the electronic devices on the defense table.

Judge Graf ruled that removing cameras from the courtroom was not necessary despite the violation but he ordered the camera moved away from the defense team’s table.

Judge Graf told the court that he needed more time before ruling on other issues involving media access to the trial and evidence and set a December 29 hearing to rule on those matters.

The judge did accept the prosecution’s request to name Ms. Kirk as the victim’s advocate in the case.

Mr. Robinson is due back in court for his next preliminary hearing in January.

A probable cause hearing for prosecutors to lay out evidence for charges was tentatively set for May.

Mr. Robinson is being held without bail. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
This is a developing story and will be updated.