Waukesha massacre suspect Darrell Brooks Jr, 40, was removed from a pre-trial hearing on Friday following an extensive verbal tirade that disrupted the proceedings.
“You sit up here and act like you know me. People like you, y’all don’t know nothing about where I come from,” said Brooks, who was yelling at Judge Jennifer R. Dorow, according to Fox 6.
The judge, who was standing up with her arms folded looking toward Brooks, tried to get Brooks’ attention and asked him to stop interrupting the court.
Judge Jennifer R. Dorow addresses defendant Darrell Brooks Jr. before he was removed from court after arguing with her and deputies Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, in Waukesha County Court in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Brooks replied, “Why? To listen to all this political stuff you got going on?”
The judge paused the hearing, and Brooks was escorted out of the courtroom.
The accused man could also be heard arguing with deputies, claiming they were pushing him during Brook’s rant aimed at Dorow.
Following the break, Brooks returned to the courtroom but told the judge he did not feel well and asked to be taken back to his jail cell, WISN reported. The judge granted his request, and Brooks was escorted out of the courtroom a second time.
Besides disruptions, Brooks was seen sleeping in the courtroom and expressed at one point that he was bored during Friday’s proceedings.
Brooks is accused of plowing his vehicle through a crowd of people, killing six and injuring 62, at the Waukesha, Wisconsin, Christmas parade on November 21, 2021. The accused murderer faces six charges of first-degree homicide and faces life in prison for each charge, along with 77 other charges.
Jessalyn, 11-year-old Waukesha Christmas parade victim, was severely injured in the attack. (Photo: GoFundMe campaign organized by Nathan Books)
The accused murderer was at one point facing an additional six charges of vehicular homicide, but those were dropped by the judge on Thursday, citing there could not be multiple punishments for the same crime, Fox 6 noted.
During the proceedings, Dower also granted the prosecution permission to use the state’s interrogation of Brooks on the night of the massacre and the day after as evidence, WISN reported.
The trial is set to begin in October after jury selection.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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