A Utah prosecutor involved in the case against Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, denied allegations of a conflict of interest in the case during a hearing on Tuesday.

Robinson’s attorneys have argued that a judge should disqualify local prosecutors because the adult daughter of Chad Grunander, a deputy county attorney, was in attendance at the rally on a Utah college campus where Kirk was shot dead. The defense alleges that the office’s move to seek the death penalty just days after Kirk’s killing indicated a “strong emotional reaction” from Grunander, and suggested a conflict of interest.

Grunander and his daughter testified before Judge Tony Graf in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday. Grunander told the court his daughter’s presence did not play a role in his office’s decision to seek the death penalty, and prosecutors opted to do so because they felt they had sufficient evidence against Robinson.

The county attorney Jeffrey Gray testified on Tuesday that he had considered seeking the death penalty before authorities arrested Robinson, and said he had announced his intention to do so early because the case had already attracted significant attention from the public.