Court denies request to lift gag order in Idaho killings

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Supreme Court has turned down a request by 30 news organizations to lift the gag order in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. The unanimous court did not weigh in on whether the gag order violates the First Amendment rights of a free press, but instead said the news organizations should have first brought the request to the magistrate judge handling the criminal case. Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths in Moscow, Idaho. The gag order prohibits the attorneys, prosecutor’s office, law enforcement officials and others involved with the case from talking to the news media.