George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Thursday that MSNBC’s alleged attempt to follow the jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was “moronic” and endangered a city already “on the edge.”
Turley made his comments on Twitter moments after Judge Bruce Schroeder kicked MSNBC out of the courthouse for the remainder of the trial, after a man claiming to work for the network was stopped by police Wednesday evening after the trial had adjourned after the second day of deliberations.
The man, James Morrison, had run a red light while allegedly following the jury bus, which is shielded so that jurors will not be influenced or intimidated by protesters.
NBC issued a statement in which it denied trying to photograph the jurors but did not deny that its “freelancer” had tried to follow the jury bus or that he had been acting on instructions from producer Irene Byon:
NBC News statement: "Last night, a freelancer received a traffic citation. While the traffic violation took place near the jury van, the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations, and never photographed or intended to photograph them" (1/2)
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 18, 2021
"We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation," NBC adds (2/2) https://t.co/7LNnDbQErb
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 18, 2021
Turley wrote:
MSNBC has now been banned from the Kenosha courtroom after an employee allegedly followed the jurors in a car and may have sought to take their pictures…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 18, 2021
I have worked for networks from NBC to CBS to BBC to Fox and it is hard to express just how moronic such an act would be for a media organization…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 18, 2021
…This is a trial in a city on the edge after violent rioting before the alleged crime. To dispatch an employee to follow the jurors would be perfectly insane. It violates the first rule of legal coverage: do not become part of the story…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 18, 2021
The judge’s comments increasingly indicate that he sees some serious problems over a possible mistrial. For the defense, this could set up the possibility of legal “free play” in the NFL where Aaron Rodgers throws a Hail Mary knowing the play is likely to be called back…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 18, 2021
…The judge could wait to see if the jury acquits on some or all charges before ruling on the mistrial motions. An acquittal by a jury is always preferred by judges since it is effectively unappealable.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 18, 2021
…For MSNBC, the optics could not be worst as various hosts and analysts have slammed the trial as shaped by racism or, in the words of one analyst, “white supremacy on steroids.” https://t.co/l8066JpjWd
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 18, 2021
The seriousness of this incident cannot be overstated. It is not simply because the police suspected MSNBC was trying to take their pictures. If the jurors believed that they were being followed, it could add to their unease about voting in the case. https://t.co/bgE8ifnQS3
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 18, 2021
The jury continued its deliberations for the third day.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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