The judge in the Wisconsin trial for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen accused of gunning down three rioters who has testified it was self-defense, has excoriated the media covering the trial.
“When I talked about the problems with the media when this trial started, we’re there in part, not fully, but in part,” Judge Bruce Schroeder said.
“Because of the grossly irresponsible handling of what comes out of this trial.”
He continued, “I will tell you this, I’m gonna think long and hard about live television in a trial next time. I don’t know, I’ve always been a firm believer in it because I think the people should be able to see what’s going on, but when you see what’s being done it’s really quite frightening.
“Frightening, that’s the right word for it,” he said.
The comments came this week after the case had gone to trial, and the jury had requested to review a video clip used as evidence.
He’s been criticized by legacy media for his decisions in the case, which experts say all have been constitutional. One outlet charged that he was favoring the defendant by treating him as a … defendant.
Another network openly declared Rittenhouse had admitted to “murder,” then backtracked because that was not factual.
Judge Bruce Schroeder slams the media’s handling of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.
He is currently under 24/7 police protection after his family received death threats. pic.twitter.com/rrAIeKQTPX
— National File (@NationalFile) November 17, 2021
The National File explained Schroeder’s opinion about the media’s “belligerent framing” of the case has prompted him to consider not allowing televised coverage of future trials.
One of the criticisms of the judge was from Time, which disliked his decision to let the defendant randomly select the jury from the 18 potential jurors who heard the evidence.
The judge noted he’s done that for years, as the appearance of a court picking the jurors would be negative.
“That was a bad optic, I thought,” he said.
OPTICS CHECK: Judge Schroeder explains he lets defendants randomly select jurors because of a case he once tried with a black defendant.
Schroeder says it was “bad optics” for the court to select jurors. pic.twitter.com/OS8w5y9M7b
— National File (@NationalFile) November 17, 2021
There is a pending motion from the defense for a mistrial, as the prosecution allegedly introduced subjects that had been banned by the judge, and then revealed it held back some evidence until after the trial, and the judge said he would hear arguments on both sides before making a decision.
The judge reportedly is under police protection already because of leftist threats made against him and his family.
Those political activists are demanding a guilty verdict for Rittenhouse, regardless of the evidence. Reports suggest the jury may be delaying a verdict because members are concerned about the violence they could face for failing to meet leftist demands for the case.
The real problem in the case, according to a report in the Daily Mail, are publications like CNN and the New Yorker.
That’s according to famed Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, who branded those two outlets “the real vigilantes” in the case.
In fact, he charged that they “convicted” him before the trial.
Rittenhouse is on trial for shooting three men, killing two, during that riot last year that was triggered by a police confrontation with a suspect, in which the suspect was injured.
Leftist rioters were running amok, burning and destroying properties and businesses. Rittenhouse said he went to Kenosha to help protect private property and shot the three men when they were attacking or confronting him.
Even Joe Biden has publicly condemned Rittenhouse, before the jury’s decision.
Dershowitz said, “CNN and some of the other TV stations have become vigilantes. They’re the vigilantes, not Rittenhouse. They’re the ones who want to put not the thumb, but the elbow on the scale of justice. They want to influence the outcome of this case.”
Dershowitz contends there’s no tangible evidence to convict Rittenhouse. And he said media outlets have been meddling in the case without legal grounds.
“And there are others who are threatening violence if there is anything but convictions in this case, as they threatened violence in previous cases and will in subsequent cases unless something is done about it. It’s The New Yorker and CNN that are the vigilantes. They’re the ones who are trying to influence justice without regard to evidence or the law,” he said.
Popular podcast host Joe Rogan also slammed the media’s work at the trial, with, “This information is not based on reality. This is a left-wing cult.”
In a report in Not the Bee, he said, “They’re pumping stuff out and then they are confirming this belief. They are all getting together and they are ignoring contrary evidence.
“They are ignoring any narrative that challenges their belief about what happened and they are not looking at it realistically. They are only looking at it like you would if you were in a f***ing cult.”
His comments, with the advisory to be aware of offensive language throughout:
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