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A British national and four Americans who were released from detention by Iran in exchange for $6bn (£4.8bn) and a prisoner swap are now free after landing in Doha.

The group’s plane touched down in Qatar’s capital shortly after 3.30pm UK time following their departure from Tehran earlier on Monday.

The British man freed is environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who has British, US and Iranian citizenship.

He was among the dual nationals being held at the time negotiations were under way involving the UK government to free former detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

The men were joined on the flight by two family members and the Qatari ambassador to Iran, a source told Reuters. It is thought they will now fly on to the US.

The $6bn (£4.8bn) funds, once frozen in South Korea, were released in Qatar after the Biden administration issued a waiver for international banks to transfer frozen Iranian money without the repercussions of US sanctions, an Iranian official announced on state television.

The deal also included the release of five unnamed Iranian citizens held in the US.

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Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said earlier: “The issue of swap of prisoners will be done on this day and five prisoners, citizens of the Islamic Republic, will be released from the prisons in the US.

“Five imprisoned citizens who were in Iran will be given to the US side reciprocally, based on their will. We expect these two issues [to] fully take place based on agreement.”

It comes weeks after Iran said the five were released from prison and placed under house arrest.

Iran-US prisoner swap represents delicate diplomatic move

This prisoner swap, or ‘consular deal’, represents a delicate diplomatic move and we can expect the Biden administration will run with the good news that comes with it.

“The president is making five families whole again and that’s what this is about,” one senior administration official told me last night.

It’s delicate because it involves a lot of money and it’s delicate because the US doesn’t want anyone to think the deal reflects some sort of shift in America’s position on Iran.

“This deal has not changed our relationship with Iran in any way. Iran is an adversary and a state sponsor of terrorism,” the administration official said.

The key controversy surrounds the $6bn worth of Iranian cash currently being held in South Korean banks.

As part of the deal, the US has issued a specific waiver to its sanctions over Iran, allowing the funds to be transferred to Qatar for Iran to use for humanitarian purposes.

“Medicine, medical devices, food and agriculture. That’s it,” the senior White House official said.

All been jailed at notorious prison

The US-Iranian dual nationals released by Iran include businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58.

Together with Mr Tahbaz, they had all been jailed at the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran on spying charges.

The identity of the fourth and fifth prisoners to be released has not been made public.

Two of the Iranian prisoners will stay in the US, two will fly to Iran and one detainee will join his family in a third country, an Iranian official said.

Read more on this story:
Iran’s president says his govt will decide how it will spend US money

British national among those being released

London-born Mr Tahbaz was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for “assembly and collusion against Iran’s national security” and working for the US as a spy.

He has – at various stages – been the subject of ongoing negotiations for his release involving British authorities, including when Dominic Raab and Liz Truss were foreign secretaries.

He was temporarily released on the same day charity worker Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori were freed, but was later returned to custody.

His daughter Roxanne had been among those calling on the UK government to do more to get him released.

He is a prominent conservationist and board member of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, which seeks to protect endangered species.

Roxanne Tahbaz, holds a picture of her father Morad Tahbaz, who is jailed in Iran, during a protest outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, which houses the office of the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss after what she says has been a betrayal of her father by the UK Government.
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Roxanne Tahbaz holds a picture of her father Morad Tahbaz during a protest outside the Foreign Office in London

Mr Namazi was convicted in 2016 of espionage-related charges the US has rejected as baseless and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Mr Shargi was convicted of espionage in 2020 and also sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The money from South Korea represents funds Seoul owed Iran, but had not yet paid, for oil purchased before Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on such transactions in 2019.

The US maintains the money will be held in restricted accounts in Qatar and will only be able to be used for humanitarian goods such as medicine and food – transactions allowed under American sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic over its advancing nuclear programme.

The West has accused Iran of using foreign prisoners as bargaining chips, an allegation Tehran rejects.

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Who’s pictured in the newly released photos from Epstein estate?

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Who's pictured in the newly released photos from Epstein estate?

Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures pictured in a new selection of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, released by Democrats in Congress.

Warning: This article contains images of a sexual nature that some readers may find offensive.

An initial tranche of 19 photos was shared on Friday, and all of the people whose faces had not been redacted were identified by Sky News. They have been contacted for comment.

A second batch of dozens of photos was released the same day, including one of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and another of Epstein himself in the bath.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. Pic: @OversightDems
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Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. Pic: @OversightDems

Jeffrey Epstein in the bath. Pic: @OversightDems
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Jeffrey Epstein in the bath. Pic: @OversightDems

Latest updates from release of Epstein photos

The photos were shared by House Oversight Committee Democrats, who said they are reviewing more than 95,000 images from the estate.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of those pictured in the images released on Friday and the context surrounding the photos is not known.

Mr Barak told the New York Times this week: “I now deeply regret having any association with him.

“However, not any point in my dealings with him I did ever witness any improper behaviour and certainly I never participated in anything like that.”

In one image, Mr Trump is seen with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve.

Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve. Pic: @OversightDems

Two further photos show the US president with women whose faces are redacted.

One image is black and white and shows him with six women; three on either side of him. The other is out of focus, and shows him sitting alongside an unidentified woman.

Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems

Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems

Speaking after Epstein took his own life in jail in 2019, Mr Trump admitted knowing Epstein, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”

In July, the White House also released a statement saying Epstein had been banned from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for acting like a “creep”.

When asked about the latest release of Epstein material at the White House on Friday, Mr Trump said he “knows nothing about it” and that the disgraced financier “has photos with everybody”.

Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett's wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems
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Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems


In another photo released by Democrats, Bill Clinton is seen with Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as singer Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol.

In 2019, a spokesperson for the former US president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.

Further images show Epstein with long-time Trump ally, Steve Bannon. In one he sits across from him at his desk, while in another the men are seen side-by-side taking a selfie in a mirror.

Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
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Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems

Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
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Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems

Mr Bannon appeared again in the later batch of images, photographed alongside Noam Chomsky, an American professor perhaps best known for his political activism.

American professor Noam Chomsky and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
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American professor Noam Chomsky and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems

Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen appears in four photos; two of them taken with Epstein.

Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
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Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems

Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
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Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems

In another, Allen is photographed with Mr Bannon, while one more shows him sat with Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New, seemingly on a private plane.

Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
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Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems

Bill Clinton's former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems
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Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems

Speaking to The Times in September, Allen said he had been to dinner at Epstein’s home, but suggested he was unaware of the nature of his crimes.

Allen said: “He told us he’d been in jail and that he had been – I can’t remember the word – but that he’d been falsely put in jail in some way.”

Meanwhile, Mr Summers told the Harvard Crimson that his former association with Epstein was “a major error of judgement”.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, is seen just once, alongside tech billionaire Bill Gates. Epstein is not pictured. The original photo at a malaria summit also shows the then Prince Charles but he is cropped out of the version released by the Democrats. It is not clear why the picture has been included in the Epstein files.

Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems
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Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems

Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on 18 April 2018. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on 18 April 2018. Pic: Reuters

Andrew relinquished his titles in October amid continued controversy over his friendship with Epstein, but said at the time: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”.

Mr Gates himself appears twice more, once alongside Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski, and once in a framed photo which appears in an image above a black cabinet.

Bill Gates and Epstein's long-time pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems
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Bill Gates and Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems

A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates's picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems
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A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates’s picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems

In 2021, the tech billionaire told the New York Times he had met Epstein to discuss philanthropy and Gates’s spokeswoman said he regretted ever meeting him.

The following year Mr Gates told the BBC: “I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.

“Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake.”

Another photo shows British entrepreneur Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor, and businessman.

Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems
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Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems

Epstein is seen with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, in one more image.

Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems
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Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems

Mr Dershowitz said he fell out with Epstein after making a plea deal for him in 2007, leading to his conviction.

He told the Harvard Crimson in November: “Jeffrey Epstein despised me after I had made the deal. Epstein and I did not get along personally after I represented him and helped get the deal.”

Emirati businessman Ahmed bin Sulayem is also among those pictured, appearing twice in the second cache of photos.

A picture of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem released from the Epstein files. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
A picture of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem released from the Epstein files. Pic: @OversightDems

A number of images of a sexual nature appear in the first cache.

One shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face, each one bearing the phrase “I’m HUUUUGE!” A handwritten sign reads: “Trump condom $4.50.”

Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Pic: @OversightDems

Various sex toys are also featured in pictures, including a glove with ribbed fingers, and a safety notice from a “jawbreaker” gag warning of the risk of injury or death.

Many of the newer batch of photos appear to show parts of Epstein’s properties, including a toilet, various service areas, and a small beachfront construction project.

Among the photos are several additional images which are thought to be from the disgraced financier’s private island, Little Saint James, showing a dental suite previously seen in an earlier release of pictures.

Pic: @OversightDems
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Pic: @OversightDems

Pic: @OversightDems
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Pic: @OversightDems

The images, obtained from the Epstein estate, were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in a bid to pressure the US Justice Department to release the full Epstein files.

President Trump signed a bill in November compelling the department to release case files within 30 days, in a U-turn after he opposed the bill for months. The end of that window is Friday 19 December.

The images released on Friday were described by Democrats as being “of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein” and “photographs of women and Epstein properties”.

A spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions” to create a “false narrative” about Donald Trump.

“Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” they added.

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Who’s pictured in the newly released photos from Epstein files?

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Who's pictured in the newly released photos from Epstein estate?

Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures pictured in a new selection of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, released by Democrats in Congress.

This article contains images of a sexual nature that some people may find offensive.

Sky News has identified all of the people whose faces have not been redacted in the images. They have been contacted for comment.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of those pictured and the context surrounding the 19 photos is not known.

Latest updates from Epstein files

In one image, the US president is seen with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve.

Donald Trump, Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Donald Trump, Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems

Two further photos show Mr Trump with women whose faces are redacted.

One image is black and white and shows him with six women; three on either side of him. The other is out of focus, and shows him sitting alongside an unidentified woman.

Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems

Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems

Speaking after Epstein took his own life in jail in 2019, Mr Trump admitted knowing Epstein, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”

In July, the White House also released a statement saying Epstein had been banned from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for acting like a “creep”.

Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett's wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems


In another photo released by Democrats, Bill Clinton is seen with Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as singer Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol.

In 2019, a spokesperson for the former US president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.

Further images show Epstein with long-time Trump ally, Steve Bannon. In one he sits across from him at his desk, while in another the men are seen side-by-side taking a selfie in a mirror.

Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems

Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems

Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen appears in four of the photos; two of them taken with Epstein.

Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems

Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems

In another, Allen is photographed with Bannon, while one more shows him sat with Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New, seemingly on a private plane.

Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems

Bill Clinton's former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems

Speaking to The Times in September, Allen said he had been to dinner at Epstein’s home, but suggested he was unaware of the nature of his crimes.

Allen said: “He told us he’d been in jail and that he had been – I can’t remember the word – but that he’d been falsely put in jail in some way.”

Meanwhile, Summers told the Harvard Crimson that his former association with Epstein was “a major error of judgement”.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, is seen just once, alongside tech billionaire Bill Gates. Epstein is not pictured. The original photo at a malaria summit also shows the then Prince Charles but he is cropped out of the version released by the Democrats. It is not clear why the picture has been included in the Epstein files.

Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems

Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on April 18, 2018. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on April 18, 2018. Pic: Reuters

Andrew relinquished his titles in October amid continued controversy over his friendship with Epstein, but said at the time: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”.

Gates himself appears twice more, once alongside Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski, and once in a framed photo which appears in an image above a black cabinet.

Bill Gates and Epstein's longtime pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Bill Gates and Epstein’s longtime pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems

A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates's picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates’s picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems

In 2021, the billionaire told the New York Times he had met Epstein to discuss philanthropy and Gates’s spokeswoman said he regretted ever meeting him.

A year later, Gates told the BBC: “I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.

“Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake.”

Another photo shows British entrepreneur Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor, and businessman.

Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems

Epstein is seen with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, in one more image.

Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems

Dershowitz said he fell out with Epstein after making a plea deal for him in 2007, leading to his conviction.

He told the Harvard Crimson in November: “Jeffrey Epstein despised me after I had made the deal. Epstein and I did not get along personally after I represented him and helped get the deal.”

A number of images of a sexual nature also appear in the cache.

One shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face, each one bearing the phrase “I’m HUUUUGE!” A handwritten sign reads: “Trump condom $4.50.”

Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Pic: @OversightDems

Various sex toys are also featured in pictures, including a glove with ribbed fingers, and a safety notice from a “jawbreaker” gag warning of the risk of injury or death.

Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Pic: @OversightDems

Pic: @OversightDems
Image:
Pic: @OversightDems

The images were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which obtained them from the Epstein estate.

Democrats said the files included tens of thousands of photos and said more would be released in the coming days.

They were described as “images of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein” and “photographs of women and Epstein properties”.

A spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions” to create a “false narrative” about Donald Trump.

“Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” they added.

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Charlie Kirk shooting suspect makes first in-person court appearance

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Charlie Kirk shooting suspect makes first in-person court appearance

The man accused of killing right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk has appeared in person at court for the first time.

Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah, is charged with aggravated murder in relation to the shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem.

Charlie Kirk pictured in December 2024. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Charlie Kirk pictured in December 2024. Pic: Reuters

Video of the incident showed Kirk, 31, and a staunch ally of Donald Trump, reaching up with his right hand after a gunshot was heard as blood came out from the left side of his neck. He died shortly after.

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

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How the Charlie Kirk shooting unfolded

On Wednesday’s appearance at Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Robinson arrived in court with restraints on his wrists and ankles and wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks.

Read more: What we can learn about suspect from charging document

According to the Associated Press, he smiled at family members sitting in the front row of the courtroom, where his mother teared up and wiped her eyes with a tissue.

More on Charlie Kirk

He made previous court appearances via video or audio feed from jail.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

The shooting happened during Kirk’s “prove me wrong” series, which saw the father of two visit campuses and debate contentious subjects; in this case, he was discussing mass shootings.

Prosecutors say the bullet which struck Kirk’s neck “passed closely to several other individuals”, including the person questioning him as part of the event.

President Trump comforts Charlie Kirk's widow Erika at his memorial service in Arizona in September. Pic: Reuters
Image:
President Trump comforts Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika at his memorial service in Arizona in September. Pic: Reuters

A charging document about Robinson from September includes incriminating texts sent between the alleged shooter and his roommate after Kirk’s death.

Read more from Sky News:
Analysis: The real reason for Trump’s Venezuela exploits
FBI release Luigi Mangione ‘to-do list’ before alleged assassination

Judge Tony Graf also heard arguments on Wednesday about whether cameras and media should be allowed in the courtroom, with Robinson’s lawyers and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office asking for them to be banned.

Mr Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has called for full transparency and said “we deserve to have cameras in there”.

The judge has already made allowances to protect Robinson’s presumption of innocence before a trial, agreeing that the case has drawn “extraordinary” public attention

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