Fight for cameras in Charlie Kirk assassination case gets boost from top Republican

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has waded into the fight to allow cameras in court for Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk.

Grassley, who has long supported the idea of allowing cameras into federal courtrooms, where they're currently banned, referred to Kirk's slaying as one of the "pivotal moments in history" and argued that such cases should play out before the public eye.

"I want to compliment Erika Kirk, wife of assassinated conservative leader Charlie Kirk. She has made an emotional appeal to have cameras in the courtroom at the trial of her husband’s [alleged] murderer," he said on the Senate floor Tuesday. "I commend her for this brave plea, because it fits in with a stand I’ve been taking for the last couple of decades."

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Most states, including Utah, allow cameras in their courtrooms, or at least give judges discretion, he said. But federally, there are no cameras. Robinson is facing state-level charges.

In an October motion seeking permission to have him appear in civilian clothes and without shackles, Robinson's lawyers argued that federal courts have upheld that restrictions on cameras in the courtroom do not violate the media's First Amendment rights. 

Utah Judge Tony Graf granted his motion to wear regular clothes, denied his motion to appear without shackles and held off a decision on the camera issue after telling both sides to come up with new briefs.

Separately, he has allowed Robinson to attend his last two public hearings remotely, without being on camera.

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Robinson is due back in court on Jan. 16, 2026. Graf has so far allowed both news cameras in the courtroom and a court-operated public livestream, but lawyers on the case have indicated they would support limits or an outright ban on news cameras.

Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, told Fox News' Jesse Watters this week she supports keeping the cameras in place.

"There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered," she said. "There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. There have been cameras all over me, analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear. We deserve to have cameras in there."

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Criminal defendants have a right to a fair trial, but not to privacy or to try and minimize public interest in the case, said Royal Oakes, a Los Angeles-based media attorney who successfully argued to have news cameras in court for OJ Simpson's 1990s murder trial.

"A more traditional argument for courtroom transparency is the right of the public to see its justice system at work," he told Fox News Digital. "But Erika Kirk is right to call for broadcasting of court proceedings because, whether the accused is found guilty or not, citizens are entitled to observe hearings and a trial, and make up their own minds about the allegations."

To solve the federal issue, Grassley has sponsored two bipartisan bills – the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act, which would give all federal judges the authority to allow cameras in their courtrooms, and the Cameras in the Courtroom Act, which would have the U.S. Supreme Court televise all open sessions unless a majority of justices believe doing so would violate due process.