The first day of testimony in the trial of Darrell Brooks, the man accused of using an SUV to run over people at the Waukesha Christmas parade last year, began on Thursday and like the pre-trial days before, it was filled with Brooks acting out in different ways.
When the day's proceedings first began, Brooks was sent to an adjacent courtroom and participated via a camera because he had previously had outbursts in the courtroom. Brooks is able to communicate with Judge Jennifer Dorow through a microphone, Dorow is able to mute him when he's being disruptive.
Brooks decided to fire his legal team and he is representing himself for the case.
- While in the other courtroom, Brooks took off his prison uniform shirt off and sat looking away from the camera on the courtroom table.
- Brooks eventually put his shirt back on but continued to sit on the table and facing away from the camera. Dorow had to repeatedly ask Brooks to face towards the camera.
- When the jury was being given their instructions, Brooks held up a sign that read "Objection." Because he held up the sign for so long, he went on to stuff the sign into his pants to make his point.
- Brooks raised objections when there was a break in the jury instructions and Dorow was reading the objections Brooks had previously written down. Dorow had to explain to Brooks there was no reason to be objecting at that moment.
- Once the jury instructions were finished being read by Dorow, Brooks claimed one of the jury members had given him the middle finger during pre-trial proceedings. Dorow reminded Brooks he did not have any objections during jury selection. Brooks continued to interrupt Dorow, claiming she was violating his First Amendment right to free speech. Brooks was once again kicked out of the main courtroom when he would not stop arguing with Dorow and the proceedings started again with Brooks in the adjacent courtroom.
- After the prosecution's opening statement, Brooks refused to say whether he would not be disruptive if he was allowed to be in the main courtroom during the first set of witness testimonies. Dorow asked repeatedly for a yes or a no answer but Brooks would only say he would end up back at the adjacent courtroom.
- When the prosecution was questioning its first witness, Sgt. David Wanner of the Waukesha Police Department, Brooks raised over 20 objections, attempting to use everything from hearsay to leading the witness to irrelevance, and the vast majority of Brooks' objections were overruled by Dorow. When it was Brooks' turn to question Wanner, almost every question was objected to by the prosecution and all of the objections were sustained by Dorow.
Brooks is being charged with the following for killing six people and injuring over 60 people in the attack:
- Six counts of first-degree intentional homicide – use of a dangerous weapon
- Six counts of hit-and-run involving death
- 61 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety – use of a dangerous weapon
- Two counts of bail jumping
- One count of battery – domestic abuse
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