Tyler Robinson’s Defense Strategy That Could Cost Taxpayers Millions

Taxpayers may end up paying up to $10 million to defend the man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk as the case drags out for months, according to a new report. 

Multiple lawyers told The New York Post that 23-year-old Tyler Robinson’s defense team is challenging every aspect of the case with the goal of pressuring state prosecutors into offering a plea deal. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty for Robinson, who is charged with gunning Kirk down during an event at Utah Valley University in September 2025. 

Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told the Post that Robinson’s lawyers “are litigating anything and everything to try to bring the prosecution to the table to offer a life-without-the-possibility-of-parole deal.”

Robinson’s defense is being paid for by the county and the lawyers defending him have to be specially trained because it involves the death penalty. 

“So yeah, it is costing taxpayers,” Rahmani said. “But what do you expect the defense to do? They’re playing the hand that they’re dealt, right? And it’s not a good hand.”

Rahmani said if the case is prolonged enough then prosecutors may choose to secure life in prison through a plea deal and avoid the many appeals that come with the death penalty. 

“If the state offered a plea deal and a life sentence, the taxpayers would save millions and millions of dollars,” he said. 

Last week, Judge Tony Graf Jr. oversaw the preliminary hearing in the case where prosecutors presented the evidence they planned to use during the trial. Graf will rule in September whether there is enough evidence against Robinson to schedule a trial. 

“I think all the attention on the case, he doesn’t want to make a mistake or be overturned on appeal,” Rahmani said. “He’s very slow, he’s very thorough, and very deliberate.”

Rahmani said the longer the process takes, the more pressure there is on the prosecution. He pointed to the high-profile case of Bryan Kohberger, who avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students. 

“They’re trying to put pressure on the prosecution to offer a life deal. Like they did in Kohberger,” he said. 

Nathan Evershed, a former deputy district attorney for Salt Lake County, agreed the longer the case took the more likely a plea deal would be. 

“Usually what happens is that the longer a case can get delayed, the more of a chance there can be an off-ramp or a plea deal,” he told the Post. “And an off-ramp is harder to find when it’s raw and very, very fraught with emotions. Whereas it’s easier to find when it’s less raw and you’re able to come to the table.”

Evershed added that it would be quite expensive before the whole ordeal closed. 

“It’s going to cost quite a bit of money to get to that point,” he said. “And the only people that will be paying for that are the taxpayers.”