Lawyers for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk ask to seal evidence and parts of a key hearing

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Lawyers for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk urged a Utah judge on Tuesday to seal some evidence and bar reporters and the public from parts of a key upcoming hearing after the judge declined to ban news cameras from the courtroom.

Tyler Robinson's defense has argued that broadcasts of the proceedings create media frenzies that often misrepresent him and could bias potential jurors. They hope to restrict access to parts of his preliminary hearing, scheduled for July 6-10, during which prosecutors must show they have enough evidence to warrant a trial.

That hearing will mark the most significant presentation of evidence to date in a case that has focused largely on public access during its first eight months.

State District Judge Tony Graf said he will rule June 1 on whether to implement restrictions.

The defense began Tuesday by urging Graf to punish prosecutors for comments that one of them, Christopher Ballard, made outside of court. Richard Novak, an attorney for Robinson, said Ballard essentially went on a “media tour” in which he made “expressions of opinion as to Mr. Robinson’s guilt.”

Prosecutors responded that Ballard had a right to speak to reporters to correct misinformation about an inconclusive, preliminary finding by ballistics experts, which led to speculation about Robinson’s possible exoneration. “Here he was representing the true nature of that report" and did not make a statement of opinion about guilt, Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride said.

Graf didn't immediately decide whether to grant the defense's request for an evidentiary hearing on the matter.

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if Robinson, 23, is convicted. He is charged with crimes including aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.

Prior to his death, Kirk and the conservative youth movement he founded, Turning Point USA, emerged as a major force in U.S. politics and helped President Donald Trump win a second term.

As public attention has swirled, Graf has taken steps to protect Robinson’s rights in court, but earlier this month he declined to bar cameras.

Prosecutors said that during the July hearing, they plan to introduce forensic analyses, surveillance video, recordings of witness statements, autopsy findings and alleged messages from Robinson admitting to the crime.

Defense attorneys asked the judge in a motion to seal dozens of those exhibits to “prevent infecting the potential jury pool."

Prosecutors argued that the preliminary hearing should remain open, but they agreed that media should be restricted from viewing or copying some exhibits that could be used in a future trial. That could be solved by not displaying certain exhibits in view of the courtroom gallery, Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said.

Prosecutors have said Robinson left a note for his romantic partner that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” They have also said he wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle used to kill Kirk, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle.

Some evidence prosecutors plan to present in July is “reliable hearsay,” or statements made outside of court that are considered highly trustworthy, Grunander said. Such statements are typically allowed in preliminary hearings but not at trial, where standards are stricter.

Defense attorney Staci Visser said her team worries that the statements will spread widely, harm their client and then not be admissible at a trial.

Reliable hearsay is a staple of preliminary hearings, Grunander responded. Closing portions of the hearing because of it would essentially “swallow the constitutional rights that the public has to be here and to witness these proceedings,” he said.

Defense attorney Richard Novak stands in the 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Tuesday, May 19, 2026 during a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester appears in the 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Tuesday, May 19, 2026 during a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

From left; Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard, Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride and Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander appear in the 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Tuesday, May 19, 2026 during a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Tyler Robinson, left, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in the 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

FILE - An attendee holds a poster of Charlie Kirk during a Turning Point USA rally, Sept. 30, 2025, in Logan, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett, File)

MADRID (AP) — More than a million people poured into a central Madrid plaza on Sunday for Pope Leo XIV ’s main Mass and a procession highlighting one of the most iconic expressions of Spanish popular piety: flower carpets.

They cheered and shouted “This is the youth of the pope!” as Leo arrived for the Mass, looping around the plaza and surrounding streets in his popemobile to a crowd packed several rows deep behind barricades.

Sunday’s Mass falls on the Catholic Corpus Domini feast day, which often features processions of faithful through towns and cities led by a priest carrying the Eucharist. In Spain as in other predominantly Catholic countries, the processions often feature elaborate floral carpets arranged along the route.

Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his weeklong visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Catholic devotion here to encourage especially young generations to find their faith.

At a vigil service Saturday night, an estimated 600,000 young Spaniards knelt for several minutes in silent prayer alongside Leo, suggesting that there is indeed interest among young people despite Spain’s heavily secularized society.

“Let me take the opportunity to tell all of you: Don't ever be afraid of thinking about a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, or other services in the church!” Leo told the crowd.

Irati Valda and Javier Hormazal, a young couple, held up a cardboard sign announcing they are going to get married on June 13 and were ushered up close to receive Leo's blessing during the vigil.

“To see so many young people together, it's incredible. Half a million people in silence, this is something you will only live once," Valda said.

For Sunday's Mass and procession, local organizers said 1.2 million people had turned out on a brilliant spring morning at the central Plaza Cibeles and surrounding streets, with more trying to get in.

The tradition of laying flower carpets — and destroying them when the procession tramples them — dates back two centuries and is popular also in Latin America, where elaborate sand designs are also made. The painstaking displays are considered an offering to the Eucharist.

Poland has already had its tradition of Corpus Domini flower carpets recognized by UNESCO, and Spain's Galicia region is trying to have its tradition listed along with other countries as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

According to Spanish organizers, the 16 flower carpets decorating the half-kilometer (mile) procession route were prepared by a Spanish florists association from Galicia. Florists used more than 30,000 flowers, most the yellow and white colors of the Holy See flag, for the carpets that feature decorations such as the Holy See keys.

Wildly popular religious processions, pilgrimages and feasts continue to be held in most Spanish regions. The most recognizable are Holy Week processions during the final week of Lent where brotherhoods and robed penitents parade ornate statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary through cities, towns and villages alongside marching bands. Such processions draw the faithful as well as droves of non-believers and tourists.

Spanish towns and cities also regularly honor local patron saints with fiestas. Religious pilgrimages to local shrines mix piety with communal festivities and music. In Andalusia, the El Rocío pilgrimage fetches a million people that make a long, dusty journey over the Pentecost weekend on horseback and decorated covered wagons to venerate an icon of the Virgin Mary.

Leo arrived in Spain on Saturday and urged its people to put an end to polarization and work for unity. Later Sunday he is to meet privately with members of his Augustinian religious order and address cultural leaders.

AP visual journalist Helena Alves contributed.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV arrives in the popemobile at Plaza de Lima in Madrid, Saturday, June 6, 2026, for a prayer vigil with young people on the first day of a seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as he arrives at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Saturday, June 6, 2026, on the first day of his seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV ahead of a Holy Mass and Corpus Christi procession at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, June 7, 2026, on the second day of his seven-day apostolic visit to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV ahead of a Holy Mass and Corpus Christi procession at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, June 7, 2026, on the second day of his seven-day apostolic visit to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV ahead of a Holy Mass and Corpus Christi procession at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, June 7, 2026, on the second day of his seven-day apostolic visit to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)