diff --git a/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py b/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py
index 54929bdf1..041100d77 100644
--- a/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py
+++ b/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py
@@ -683,7 +683,6 @@ async def publish(self, topic: str, partition_id: Optional[str], content_type: s
         await self.validate_publish_request_format(data, formats, content_type, topic)
         status = HTTPStatus.OK
         ser_format = formats["embedded_format"]
-        prepared_records = []
         try:
             prepared_records = await self._prepare_records(
                 content_type=content_type,