Megan Basham

I would say these transcripts show more procedural negotiations.

So essentially, the defense asked for Robinson to be allowed to wear civilian clothes in court and also to have one of his hands free from shackles so that he could take notes.

And Graff did later rule that Robinson can wear civilian clothes, but he cannot have his hands free.

You know, this was more of a pro forma argument.

Robinson's attorneys have consistently argued that broad media coverage in general, including things like cameras in the courtroom, could prejudice potential jurors and jeopardize his right to a fair trial.

They're also saying that they're concerned that sensationalized images of Robinson risk inflaming public opinion before any sort of judgment is made.

In fact, earlier this month at Robinson's first appearance in court, Graff blocked a media live stream of the hearing.

And he also ordered that a camera be moved after Robinson's attorneys objected that their client was being shown in shackles.

Graff at that point ruled that the media is not allowed to show images of Robinson in restraints or really anywhere in the courtroom except sitting at that defense table.

On the other side, though, you have a coalition of news organizations, including the Associated Press and Fox News, who filed a motion arguing that transparent proceedings are essential to justice and to public trust.

And they said in this motion that, quote, every high profile criminal prosecution has significant pretrial publicity no matter where it occurs.

But then another interesting wrinkle here is that Erica Kirk has joined that media call for transparency because she says that her family and the public deserve to have cameras in there, in part to prevent misinformation and conspiracy theories from taking hold about the case.

And, you know, a lot of people have noticed that a sort of cottage industry of wild, unfounded theorizing has sprung up around Charlie Kirk's murder.

So I think TPUSA is hoping that greater public access to all of these proceedings can help tamp that down.

You know, I'd say remarkably well.

There are reports that over 32,000 students have signed up to start new chapters, and the organization is now opening dozens of chapters daily.

Fundraising, we're hearing, is pouring in from major donors.

And you have a lot of analysts pointing to the fact that TPUSA has played a major role in shifting young male voters in particular toward Republicans.

And a lot of commentators are noting that Democrats are now struggling in that demographic.

And then, you know, I would say that maybe one of the greatest indicators of their growing influence was the appearance of rapper Nicki Minaj at their America Fest conference just this month.