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The judge in the case of Darrell Brooks, the man who ran into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin last year, went off the rails as the judge walked off the bench.
It happened as Brooks was arguing to be his own defense in the case against him, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow was supposed to decide on Tuesday if he could represent himself but, after a testy back and forth with the defendant, she left the courtroom.
“At this point, sir, I cannot grant the request because I cannot make a finding that you understand what’s going on,” the judge said.
“You can roll your eyes all you want,” she said. “So, I’m done. If need be, we can come back tomorrow.”
Dorow instructed him to confer with his attorneys, Jeremy Perri and Anna Kees, who remained on the case for now, about what would be required of him to proceed with his request to represent himself. For that hearing to take place, Brooks must file a waiver of attorney form by 9 a.m., one of the many stumbling blocks in Tuesday’s proceedings.
Brooks, 40, of Milwaukee is accused of 77 criminal counts, including six of first-degree intentional homicide and 61 of recklessly endangering safety, tied to the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy in November 2021. His defense attorneys’ motion to withdraw from the case, filed Sept. 22, indicated his intention to represent himself.
His trial is scheduled to start on October 3 and last until October 28.
“As recently as two weeks ago, it appeared the trial would not require the full four weeks. But experts say that if Brooks is allowed to represent himself, it could slow down the process,” the report said.
During the hearing, Brooks attempted to talk over the judge.
“Nope. I’m talking, sir,” she said. “Listen Mr. Brooks. We are not; we are done here today.”
”I cannot make a finding at the point that you have an understanding of what you’re charged with, the nature of these proceedings,” the judge said.
“I am not going to get into a debate about whether you’re a sovereign citizen or not, or even whether you have any understanding of how the state is a plaintiff in this case.
“My sole reason for being here today is your motion through your attorneys to consider your request to represent yourself. You have demonstrated through this hearing that you don’t have a basic understanding of some of the things that are going on,” the judge said.
In November an Illinois Democrat has resigned from her post as social media director for a county-level party after claiming that the horrific and deadly incident in Waukesha, Wis., which Brooks plowed into a Christmas parade with an SUV “karma” for the verdict of not guilty in the Kyle Rittenhouse case the previous day.
“The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children,” wrote Mary Lemanski, then-social media chief for the Democratic Pary in Dupage County, tweeted.
Mary Lemanski, the social media manager for the Democratic Party of DuPage County, Illinois, says the deadly #Waukesha Christmas parade incident is karma.
“The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children.” pic.twitter.com/3WkzvSJu5J
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 22, 2021
RT.com reports:
Lemanski, whose Twitter profile says she is an acting student with the Second City Comedy Group, meanwhile mockingly referred to the SUV driver as fearing for his life and simply offering “help.” The remarks echoed Rittenhouse’s explanation that he shot and killed Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum in August 2020 in self-defense, claiming he was present during a protest-turned-riot to offer people help.
Lemanski later deleted her tweets as they began to spread online, and shared a statement saying she had resigned from the social media role after making “some remarks that were not in good taste regarding the Waukesha tragedy”. She also claimed she would sue Fox News for harassment, as the outlet was the first to highlight the tweets.
In a statement, the DuPage County Democratic Party put some distance between the organization and Lemanski’s remarks, describing her as a “former member of our organization.” At present, there is no one who is listed as the party’s social media director.
DuPage County Democrats have distanced themselves from Lemanski’s comments and described her as a “former member of our organization.” There is no one currently listed as the party’s social media director on its staffing page.
“We are aware of statements made by a former member of our organization and find them to be incredibly insensitive and not in alignment of who we are as an organization. Our organization does not support hate in any form,” the group said.
