It was almost a year ago when a SUV drove through the crowd gathered at a holiday parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin killing six people and injuring over 60 bystanders and performers. The incident occurred not too long after the accused, Darrell Brooks Jr, was released from jail on bail for hitting his own girlfriend with a motor vehicle.
Brooks Faces 83 Counts in Wisconsin
Today, Brooks is on trial for the incident. He faces 83 counts; six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, six counts of 1st degree homicide, 61 counts of recklessly endangering safety, two counts of felony bail jumping, two counts of battery and 6 counts of vehicular homicide while under the influence of a controlled substance.
Brooks originally sought a not guilty plea, which then was changed to a plea of insanity but that too was later withdrawn to return to the original plea. He is claiming to be a sovereign citizen, which is a member of a political movement who opposes taxes, questions the legitimacy of the government and believes they are not subject to the law or courts. He has also chosen to represent himself, ‘Pro se’ in the courtroom.
Opening Statements and First 2 Witnesses Testify on Day 4 of the Darrell Brooks Trial
It is technically the 4th day of the trial and they are now finally getting to the opening statements. Brooks has been quite disruptive so far causing multiple delays in the proceedings. He has been sleeping in court, complaining of toothaches, constantly interrupting the judge, and making scenes all in attempts to drag out the process for as long as possible.
The distractions he is putting forth have led him to be placed in a separate courtroom where he can be muted in order to allow the procedures to continue. It should also be noted that the defendant chose to sit through the court in his inmate attire, despite being given multiple opportunities to change.
Darrell Brooks Re-enters Courtroom
He was allowed back into the courtroom today after he demonstrated some restraint and respect, though it didn’t take very long before he continued with his antics of interruptions. The judge showed immense restraint while dealing with Brooks, offering him several ‘final warnings’ to cease cutting her off while she tried to get through the jury proceedings.
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Eventually he ended up back in a separate courtroom stating that he wouldn’t be able to answer if he would behave in court when invited back for opening statements and the first two witnesses; however, the second witness seemed to get under his skin leading him to return to the courtroom, likely as an attempt to intimidate her though she remained unshaken.
Brook’s Trial Ends for the Day
Court proceedings ended for the day and will resume on Friday, October 7th, 2022. The Darrell Brooks Jr. Trial is likely one of the most renowned trials of 2022. In fact, the incident leading to the trial took place only weeks after Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of his charges in November of 2022 for the events that took place only one hour away in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Leading many to believe that Brook’s alleged actions may have been in response to the verdict. And like the Rittenhouse case, the evidence in this trial will include a lot of video footage.