U.S. Sen. Mike Lee has called for the public execution of Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of killing conservative commentator Charlie Kirk last year.
Lee shared a Fox News story on X Monday night about Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erica Kirk, pushing for a speedy trial.
“Execute Tyler Robinson,” the Utah senator wrote. “In public.”
It is not the first time Lee has called for Robinson’s public execution and legal experts say the senator’s public comments could make it more difficult to seat a jury in the high-profile case.
In a post last Friday, Lee shared a post about Robinson’s court hearings and added, “Tyler Robinson publicly executed Charlie Kirk. Tyler Robinson should be publicly executed.”
Robinson has not been convicted. He is facing multiple charges, including aggravated murder, in connection with Kirk’s death. Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
Lee did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday on his posts and whether the remarks could taint the ongoing court process.
The Utah County attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the case against Robinson, said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune they had no comment regarding Lee’s posts.
“We are resolutely focused on preparing for upcoming court hearings and the preliminary hearing in May,” public information officer Chris Ballard said.
[READ: Erika Kirk asks judge for ‘speedy trial’ against accused killer of her husband, Charlie Kirk]
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester did not respond to a request to comment on Lee’s call for a public execution of her client.
The Utah State Bar did not comment on Lee’s posts or their professionalism and suggested speaking with law professors focused on ethics.
The organization does not handle discipline or complaints against attorneys and is independent of the Utah Supreme Court’s Office of Professional Conduct, which does administer attorney discipline.
That office did not respond to a request for comment, but notes on its website that “all complaints, information, investigations and private discipline are confidential.” It does post public disciplinary actions.
Stephen Gillers, the Elihu Root Professor of Law Emeritus at New York University School of Law, noted that lawyers who don’t represent anyone involved in the case are “free to make the kinds of comments the senator has made.”
Lee does not actively practice law, based on the Utah State Bar’s records.
But there are other concerns related to Lee’s comments.
Robinson’s defense team has raised concerns that the chorus of elected officials who have offered their opinion about the case has amounted to “prejudicial pretrial publicity” that could affect their ability to find fair jurors for his trial.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
Gillers contends that Lee’s comments could do just that. He has written widely on legal and judicial ethics, including the use of social media, and said potential jurors might not know what the ordinary person has to say about a case on social media but “are more likely to become exposed to those of someone of prominence, like a senator.”
He added that the trial judge will now have to ask about Lee’s views and whether people can ignore them during jury selection.
“In short, the senator has created a problem for the Utah courts and an issue that Robinson, if convicted, can and will raise on appeal, delaying finality,” Gillers said.
Lee isn’t the first prominent political figure to comment publicly on the case.
Robinson’s attorneys point to multiple statements, such as when President Donald Trump said shortly after Robinson was arrested that he hoped the Utah man would be found guilty and added, “I hope he gets the death penalty.”
They also noted that Gov. Spencer Cox began a press conference announcing their client’s arrest by saying, “WE GOT HIM,” and, they noted, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on Fox News side-by-side with Robinson’s booking photo, during a segment where Bondi commented that the death penalty is “very real in Utah” and “they still have the firing squad in Utah.”
The firing squad is only an execution option in Utah for modern-day defendants if state officials can’t obtain lethal injection drugs.
Executions are not public in Utah, and generally the only people who can be present are a limited number of family members for both the victim and the condemned, police and prosecutors, and journalists. No one under 18 can witness an execution, according to state code.
Asked about Lee’s comments Tuesday, Cox said he is a “big fan” of Utah’s justice system and that he’s “excited to see that process play out in every way.”
“I’ve said before we have the death penalty for a reason,” the governor told The Tribune. “It should be used very, very sparingly, and I personally believe this is one of those areas where it does make sense.”
But, the governor added, “I also don’t think we need to glorify death any more than we already do.”
Asked if Lee was getting ahead of himself by calling for an execution with the case ongoing, Cox said, “Yeah, again, we’ll let this play out.”
A trial date for Robinson has not yet been set.
Reporter Robert Gehrke contributed to this report.