Prosecutor Found in Contempt for Defending Evidence Against Tyler Robinson Publicly
"The contempt ruling was not because of what the prosecutor said to correct the record on the misrepresentation of that forensic report. It was that he went on TMZ afterwards and said, we have a strong case, which I don't understand how that's contempt."
About this episode
Megyn Kelly convenes legal experts to analyze the preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused of murdering someone at a Charlie Kirk event at Utah Valley University. Joining Kelly are former litigator Viva Frei, former Palm Beach County State's Attorney Dave Ehrenberg, and defense attorney Ashley Merchant, co-hosts of the MK True Crime podcast. The panel dissects testimony from Officer Chris Bagley, who witnessed the shooting and described hearing a gunshot simultaneous with the victim falling and crowd panic. The discussion centers on Utah prosecutors' unusual decision to conduct an extensive five-day preliminary hearing rather than seeking a grand jury indictment, a strategy legal experts call unnecessary and potentially risky. Former prosecutors Ehrenberg and Merchant argue probable cause could be established in under 30 minutes with summary testimony about Robinson's alleged confessions on Discord, text messages to boyfriend Lance Twigs, and physical evidence. They suggest prosecutors may be publicly showcasing evidence strength due to public pressure following a Daily Mail report questioning bullet-match forensics. The prosecutor was recently held in contempt for telling TMZ the case was strong, though correcting the Daily Mail's mischaracterization was deemed acceptable. Experts note the defense likely welcomes the detailed hearing to lock in testimony and challenge witnesses, particularly Lance Twigs who will testify via video rather than in person. The witness and evidence lists are exhaustive, including drone footage, photographs of the alleged sniper perch, the rifle, doorbell camera surveillance, medical examiner reports, and extensive digital communications.
Key takeaways
- Utah prosecutor held in contempt for publicly stating strong case against Tyler Robinson on TMZ despite gag order, though correcting Daily Mail forensic misreporting was deemed acceptable by court.
- Prosecutors conducting unusually extensive five-day preliminary hearing instead of grand jury indictment in Charlie Kirk shooting case, strategy legal experts call unnecessary and risky.
- Former prosecutors say probable cause against Robinson could be established in under 30 minutes with alleged Discord confession, text messages to boyfriend Lance Twigs, and physical evidence.
- Officer Chris Bagley testified he heard gunshot simultaneous with victim falling and witnessed crowd panic with people screaming and running in all directions.
- Defense successfully prevented boyfriend Lance Twigs from testifying in person, forcing prosecution to use recorded video testimony instead, limiting cross-examination opportunities.
- Legal analysts suggest prosecution may be showcasing full evidence publicly to counter competing narratives and Daily Mail report questioning bullet-match forensics.
- Evidence list includes drone images, photographs of alleged sniper perch and rifle, doorbell surveillance, medical examiner report, Discord chats, and extensive text message exchanges.