Charlie Kirk's widow calls for cameras in courtrooms, renewing efforts for access to all federal courts
Charlie Kirk, speaking last April at Texas A&M University, was assassinated in September at an event at Utah Valley University. (Photo by Meredith Seaver/The Bryan College Station Eagle via the Associated Press)
The widow of slain conservative political activist Charlie Kirk has called for the murder trial of his suspected killer to be on camera, prompting a top Republican U.S. senator to renew calls for legislation allowing video cameras in federal courtrooms nationwide.
“There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered,” Erika Kirk told Fox News host Jesse Watters in an interview scheduled to air Nov. 5. “There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. … We deserve to have cameras in there.”
USA Today, the Salt Lake Tribune and other media outlets reported her remarks.
Courthouse News Service reports that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Rebublican from Iowa, said cameras should be permitted in all federal courts.
“Courts at both the state and federal level have a massive impact on our daily lives and the lives of generations to come, yet few Americans get the chance to see the nation’s courts in action,” Grassley said in remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday morning.
Kirk was assassinated in September while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Videos of the killing circulated widely online, though they were quickly taken down from social media platforms.
In her interview with Fox News, Erika Kirk, who’s now the CEO of the conservative nonprofit organization Turning Point USA, which her late husband co-founded and led until his death, said she wants transparency in the court case and for the public to see “what true evil is.”
“Why not be transparent?” she said. “There’s nothing to hide.”
Grassley said Erika Kirk’s appeal aligns with his long-standing bipartisan push to change judiciary regulations barring videography and broadcasting in federal court proceedings.
According to Courthouse News Service, some state courts allow photography and video in chambers, but such practices are banned in federal courtrooms in part because of Rule 53 of the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure.
In March, Grassley reintroduced a pair of bills that would give federal judges and the U.S. Supreme Court discretion to allow cameras in their courtrooms. The “Sunshine in the Courtroom Act” would protect the identities of witnesses and jurors.
Gabe Roth, director of the legal advocacy group Fix the Court, said in an interview with Courthouse News he supports Grassley’s efforts to modernize court access.
“If there’s any concern people had in the past about filming criminal proceedings, I think they’ve been put to rest in this day and age because it’s so easy to not only record it but to have a judge control what’s going on behind the scenes so you don’t have sensitive information getting out there,” Roth said.
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