Day 17 of Darrell Brooks trial: No verdict reached after first few hours of deliberations

WAUKESHA - Jurors began deliberating in the trial of Darrell Brooks Jr., accused in the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade attack that killed six and injured dozens more.

Both parties delivered closing arguments Tuesday afternoon after Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow spent hours reading through jury instructions in the case. Prosecutors emphasized Brooks' intentions, which they said were abundantly clear as he drove through the parade on Nov. 21, 2021, in downtown Waukesha. Brooks, acting as his own attorney, appealed to jurors to dismiss claims he ever intended to hurt anybody.

Jurors deliberated for less than two hours, including a supper break, before informing the court they wanted to break for the evening. They will resume at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday for what's expected to be a full day of deliberations.

Brooks, 40, of Milwaukee is charged with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, 61 counts of recklessly endangering safety, six counts of hit-and-run causing death and two counts of bail jumping, all felonies in connection to the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy, and one count of misdemeanor battery.

If convicted on any of the intentional homicide charges, Brooks faces mandatory life in prison.

Here's what happened on Day 17 of the trial.

Darrell Brooks drove through the parade 'intentionally,' prosecutors said

Waukesha County District Attorney Sue Opper drove home one central point: Brooks was not a victim of circumstances, or any kind of victim at all. His intentions were deadly and broadly tragic at the holiday parade.

Opper also pointed to extensive testimony, including videos replayed during her closing argument, that seemed to show the red SUV driving directly at parade participants relentlessly. "He never stopped. Never," Opper said.

Reading the names of the six fatal victims, Opper noted that they all "lost their lives because of the conduct of Darrell Brooks." Pointing to the 61 victims tied to the recklessly endangerment charges, she noted prosecutors only selected from those who were physically injured from a larger pool of victims who were also at risk.

"One of the big things in this case was (people wondering) why did this happen? I can't look into someone's mind," she said. "What I can tell you is his intention," noting how easily he could have prevented the tragedy by simply stopping the red Ford Escape he was driving.

Brooks ignored barricades, police officers trying to stop his vehicle, the dense crowd ahead of him and the people who he struck. "It was intentional," Opper said.

Then he tried to run away to escape accountability, fabricating a story about how he was running away from a fight when he was later discovered by police outside a home near the parade, she added, noting his attempt to "change his appearance" by shedding his clothes and other identifying elements from the parade and "ditch" his vehicle.

Opper closed her arguments by pointing various identification, including his state ID found in his pocket, tying Brooks to the case, calling his sovereign citizen defense to separate his name from the case "shenanigans" and a "distraction."

Darrell Brooks threatens to, and does, skirts rules in closing arguments

Before Brooks gave his argument, Dorow warned him that under varying rules and case laws she could interrupt him. She also reminded him that he could forfeit his right to a closing argument if he persisted in referencing jury nullification — when a jury ignores the law and acquits someone who is technically guilty — which lawyers are not allowed to argue for.

Brooks replied: "I'm going to inform the jury of the truth."

The parties eventually settled on an arrangement that allowed Brooks to make a closing argument, portions of which Opper could object to, and allow Dorow to make a ruling on, and end what Opper called Brooks' efforts to "make this case forever."

Shortly after his closing argument began, Brooks referenced jury nullification, which Opper objected to and Dorow struck from the record.

Darrell Brooks' closing statement addresses emotional elements

Echoing his opening statement, Brooks began his closing argument by saying he was speaking "from the heart" and would not rehash facts presented by prosecutors.

"For a year, I have sat while going through this (case)," he said tearfully. "I understand about healing myself, tragedy and pain."

Seemingly acknowledging he was behind the wheel of the red SUV, he denied it was an intentional act by him, claiming he blew his horn as he proceeded through part of the parade.

Addressing the prosecution's claim of his "utter disregard for human life," Brooks said that his own life experiences, including watching one of his children being born, showed he had no such disregard. He also challenged prosecutors' claims about his "rage," which he said was unproven and inconsistent with his actions.

He objected to "the lies put out there" about his actions, and talked about how he and his family have been hounded with hate mail and harassment as a result of the charges he faces.

"You have the decision. ... Remember the power that you have," he told jurors.

Crying freely near the end of his statement, he said, "My conscience is clear," while pointing to his faith in God to carry him through the ordeal. "Look inside yourself to make the right decision," Brooks said, adding, "Whatever you decide, make sure you can live with it."

In her rebuttal, Opper dismissed Brooks' emotional claims, noting that never once in his closing statement did he address the feelings of families who lost loved ones.

"When you ride through a parade route and roll over children, ... your intent is known, Mr. Brooks," Opper said. To jurors, she added: "You don't have to stand and wonder, as he claims to. ... There are 68 victims in this case. That's not an accident."

Reddit posts ostensibly from juror initiates sheriff investigation

Within an hour of the trial's end, Dorow returned on the record to announce she was forced to initiate an investigation from someone claiming to be juror posting information on Reddit.

The post, r/Justice4Darrell from u/anonymousbrooksjuror, was highly critical of Waukesha County officials, particularly the district attorney's office for prosecuting Brooks. Regardless of its content, Dorow said the possibility required her to ask the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office to open an investigation.

Details of that investigation were not available, but Dorow stressed how serious the issue was potentially.

"It was an anonymous post claiming to be one of the jurors," she said. "That, of course, would be a violation of the rules that I set out for the jurors, which is why I turned over the information to law enforcement so they can make a whole and complete investigation."

Back in court, Brooks stressed he had no connection to the Reddit post, while Opper doubted its veracity, but noted the post favored Brooks and should have no bearing on the jury's decision.

However, the post was updated by the source at about 7:30 p.m. indicating the post was not supposed to be taken seriously. The anonymous poster stated: "This was all a prank. I didn't think this would blow up like this. We're very sorry."

Darrell Brooks threw away the jury instructions

In addition to restating various objections, Brooks began the day by claiming he had not seen the 107-page packet of jury instructions.

Dorow informed Brooks that those instructions were found in the trash can, where he had apparently thrown them, prompting bailiffs to retrieve them and returned them to him.

He also continued to claim to not understand any of the proceedings and argued he had been improperly barred from entering evidence. "So basically you are prejudicing my defense," Brooks said.

Dorow did, however, agree with Brooks' concern about immediate sentencing pending his conviction on any of the charges. He said he would need time to make arrangements under those circumstances and asked for a separate hearing, which Dorow granted.

More:What's next in trial of Darrell Brooks, accused in the Waukesha Christmas Parade rampage?

Day 16 of the trial:Brooks forfeits his right to testify, Dorow rules

Darrell Brooks was repeatedly removed to a neighboring courtroom

Before the day could begin, Dorow twice ordered Brooks removed from the courtroom for repeated interruptions and improper decorum, once as the jury was just moments away from entering her courtroom.

Moving Brooks back and forth between courtrooms prompted four different delays over the span of about half and hour Tuesday morning. On one occasion, bailiffs moved him to a neighboring courtroom mere minutes after Dorow had allowed him to return.

At one point, Brooks again asked to be allowed into the courtroom after a morning break in the middle of jury instructions. But Dorow, in her findings, said Brooks was claiming to not understand her conditions for his return, which included pledging to abide by proper courtroom decorum. As a result, he was not allowed to return prior to the lunch break.

Judge Jennifer Dorow spent several hours reading through jury instructions

Dorow spent the bulk of Tuesday's proceedings reading the finalized jury instructions, a 100-plus page document that explained in detail how the jury should consider evidence and deliberate until a verdict is reached.

Jurors will be required to consider each of the 76 counts in the case individually. The process of reading through the instructions lasted into the afternoon and included numerous interruptions from Brooks. He repeatedly asserted that any law that offset his First Amendment rights to speak freely could stand under the U.S. Constitution.

But Dorow said that even under that standard, Brooks' right to free speech was not "unfettered," especially because he had delayed the completion of jury instructions by raising issues she had already addressed.

Managing the court proceedings "has been challenging and has been met by resistance by Mr. Brooks," Dorow said, adding that "a stubbornly defiant defendant can forfeit" certain trial proceeding rights as a result.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Darrell Brooks Waukesha parade trial: jury deliberations begin