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Judge Bans MSNBC From Rittenhouse Trial Courtroom Over Jury Tracking

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Kenosha Judge Bruce Schroeder has banned MSNBC from the courtroom for the rest of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial after someone allegedly with the network followed a van carrying the jury.

Reports suggest the producer has been identified as James Morrison, who was stopped by police after running a stoplight while attempting to follow a van used to bring jurors to the courtroom.

Police in Kenosha said Morrison was “trying to photograph jurors” and was charged with several traffic violations, police said.

Judge Schroeder said the jury van is equipped with blacked-out windows so members are prevented from being exposed.

“I have instructed that no one from MSNBC News will be permitted in this building for the duration of this trial,” Schroeder said. “This is a very serious matter. I don’t know what the ultimate truth of it is … but someone following a jury bus is an extremely serious matter, and will be referred to the proper authorities for further action.”

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Earlier this week, the defense team for Rittenhouse submitted a request for a mistrial.

The defense had motioned for a mistrial with prejudice alleging that the prosecution withheld drone footage from the night Rittenhouse killed two men and injured another in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

According to The New York Times, defense lawyer Corey Chirafisi made a separate request for a mistrial.

“We didn’t have the quality of evidence that the state had until the case had been closed,” he told Judge Bruce Schroeder.

The Times reported the defense is now “asking for a mistrial ‘without prejudice’ — meaning that prosecutors could refile charges — arguing that they did not have access to a high-quality video that most fully captures the first of the three shootings.”

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the defense originally received a lower quality version of the drone footage and says they were not given the high-definition version until Saturday.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger has been repeatedly scolded by Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder for his behavior, comments, and numerous attempts to use shady evidence against Rittenhouse.

But Binger’s most embarrassing moment may have come when he pointed an AR-15 at people inside the courtroom.

Binger was demonstrating something with the weapon but ironically didn’t consider basic gun safety during the demonstration — which is even more ridiculous because he has been trying to claim Rittenhouse was reckless with a firearm.

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In the images below, Binger not only pointed the weapon towards people in the courtroom, he also had his finger on the trigger.

Last week, Schroeder dismissed a charge of illegal possession of a firearm against Rittenhouse, a misdemeanor, after his lawyers successfully argued that under Wisconsin law, he was legally able to carry the AR-15 type rifle he possessed in public.

As to the dismissal, last week during testimony Schroeder repeatedly took Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger to task over various violations of protocol and previous court instructions.

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