WATCH: Waukesha Christmas Parade Defendant Holds Shirtless Tantrum After Removal From Courtroom in Wild Scene
The Darrell Brooks trial for homocide went WAY off the rails in Wisconsin when the Waukesha Christmas parade attack defendant took off his shirt after a berserk sequence of outbursts in the courtroom.
Brooks stands accused of killing six people and wounding dozens more when he drove his SUV through a crowd of people at the parade last year. He’s representing himself after firing his lawyers last week, and his time in court got off to a wild start when Brooks was ordered to participate remotely from a different courtroom after getting erratic and argumentative with Judge Jennifer Dorow.
The trial has been unable to effectively reach opening statements due to multiple outbursts from Brooks over the course of the proceedings. In the last 2 days, Brooks has shouted at Dorow while she set the rules for the trial, raised out-of-bounds objections to District Attorney Susan Opper, was accused of trying to delay his trial by arguing over the court’s Covid protocols, and he was removed from the courtroom again over his continued disruptions.
The fourth day of proceedings once again went sideways on Thursday when Brooks kept on talking over the judge, which resulted in her telling him “you need to stop interrupting.” She kept a running tally of Brooks’ interruptions and warned him he faced expulsion from the room again if his disruptions continued. All of this as Dorow was offering Brooks the chance to appear before court in a suit, rather than in his prison clothes, which he rejected.
Eventually, Brooks was ordered back to the other courtroom, and Dorow made a note for the record that his interruptive behavior and resistance continued while he was being removed. In the video feed from the other room, Brooks was seen shirtless with his back to the camera, and Dorow explained he was seemingly threatening to throw his shoe before his removal, and now he was “threatening to throw and break items.”
“Through his conduct, he has forfeited his right to be present,” Dorow said as the trial continued to air Brooks’ shirtless, muted fit from the other room.
Watch above, via Law & Crime.