A Reddit post supposedly written by an anonymous juror stalled the alleged Waukesha Christmas parade killer’s trial Tuesday, only for its creator to claim it was “all a prank” after the judge referred the matter to police.
After concluding arguments had ended, Judge Jennifer Dorow announced at about 7:05 p.m. local time that the clerk had informed her earlier in the day about receiving an email regarding a post on the “r/Justice4Darrell” subReddit, which was created in support of defendant Darrell Brooks.
The post said it was written by a juror who thought Brooks was guilty, but had doubts about technical, court-related aspects of the case and was yet to make a decision.
“The judge is clearly biased against Mr. Brooks,” the post stated. “Clearly she is not an impartial judge and has been trying to belittle, demean, bully and pull procedural tricks on him fairly frequently.”
The poster wrote that Brooks “has clearly not been given the chance to plead his case in court,” being “silenced and mocked at almost every turn.”
Brooks has brought up subject-matter jurisdiction on numerous occasions during the trial, with Dorow repeatedly dismissing that point.
“I do have significant doubts about subject matter jurisdiction. I didn’t understand it when discussed in court because the defendant was repeatedly silenced,” the Reddit post said. “But I do understand now thanks to this sub and I agree that subject matter jurisdiction is a great concern here.”
Trial jurors are generally not allowed to speak about their ongoing court cases with outsiders or view internet media accounts about them. Dorow explained that she advised law enforcement to investigate the post but elected to proceed with the trial.
“At this point there is no, I would say, credible information that this is in fact a member of the jury, but I will leave that for law enforcement to determine,” the judge said.
Less than an hour after Dorow’s announcement, the Reddit post was updated, stating, “This was all a prank, I didn’t think this would blow up like this. We are sorry. Love, rdrama.”
The entire “r/Justice4Darrell” subReddit has since been banned “for repeatedly violating Reddit’s Moderator Code of Conduct.”
Brooks faces 76 charges after allegedly driving a vehicle into the Waukesha Christmas parade, with six people losing their lives and many others being injured.
He has interrupted proceedings and been evicted from the main courtroom many times during the weeks-long trial.
The jury deliberations have started, with verdicts yet to be announced.
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