BREAKING: Tyler Robinson's lawyers seek to block public access to evidence over fears of jury prejudice

In a hearing on Friday, the defense for Tyler Robinson, the man charged with assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, argued that evidence relating to a January motion be classified over fears that it would sway public opinion in the case.

The defense argued that the January motion to classify was necessary, saying, "The evidence is important enough. It is important, it is evidence that will be at issue in the case, but it also in process, which is the whole point of the underlying motion, right? It’s in process. There is more to be done; there is more the state wants to do with that evidence. So it is not in a place, in a position where we are going to be arguing about admissibility, because we’re not done, right?"

"So what we’re talking about is releasing preliminary evidence into the public sphere that has the potential to impact jurors, and it is important enough that we are concerned that it will sway people’s opinions one way or the other."

She later added, "There seems to be an idea that flooding the public sphere with information or evidence from this courtroom will somehow dispel conspiracy theories or shift public narrative. That, in and of itself, is concerning to the defense. No one should be worried about that. All we should be worried about is protecting what happens in this courtroom.

"We believe that preemptively releasing evidence that we needed to provide to this court in order for this court to make an informed decision is just one of those actions, is one of those things that will negatively impact our ability to have a fair proceeding for our client.

"So we are asking that the motion and the evidence be classified as private, that this court considers our client’s unqualified right to a fair trial, and a reliable penalty phase should overcome the qualified right of access at this point,” the defense lawyer added.