Prosecutors push back at court hearing for activist

Feb. 25—SWAMPSCOTT — A Black Lives Matter activist charged with assault and battery on an 80-year-old Trump supporter during a demonstration in December drew dozens of supporters to a Zoom court session Wednesday, many holding up "Free Shimmy" signs or placards.

But Essex County prosecutors pushed back on Wednesday, filing a notice with the court that they will seek to tell jurors about prior confrontations they say Ernst Jean Jacques of Haverhill has had with others during protests.

Jacques' lawyer, Murat Erkan, tried unsuccessfully to convince Judge Matthew Nestor that because the prosecutor had emailed a packet of evidence, including that notice, to him just before the hearing, which he attended via Zoom, the judge should dismiss the case "as a sanction."

"You know I don't have any legal authority to dismiss the case today," Nestor told Erkan. And the judge said that the rules only obligate prosecutors to provide the material on or before the date of a pre-trial conference, something the prosecutor did.

The brief but contentious hearing in Lynn District Court included several warnings from Nestor, who admonished both the defense lawyer and prosecutor Danielle Doherty-Wirwicz for bringing up matters outside of the case.

"We're a trial court," said Nestor. "We're not here to air grievances not related to the case."

The case has drawn significant attention, including an unusual letter signed by two members of the Swampscott Select Board asking District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett to drop the charges.

The case has also led to weekly protests outside the Swampscott police department, where on Feb. 14, someone spray painted "Free Shmmy," and on Feb. 21, someone used a paint marker to write anti-police slogans.

Doherty-Wirwicz began describing that to the judge, in the context of describing widespread misinformation about the case, and accused Erkan of blaming her personally to Jacques supporters.

Nestor interrupted her. "You can't ask an attorney to be responsible for someone who vandalizes property," the judge said.

But Nestor also cut off Erkan several times, including when Erkan mentioned that he had 100 supporters of Jacques on the Zoom conference. "What should I draw from that?" Nestor asked the lawyer. "Let's stick to the law."

Doherty-Wirwicz was accompanied in court Wednesday by a senior prosecutor in Blodgett's office. Two members of the Swampscott Police Department were also present.

In her notice of intent to admit "prior bad act" evidence against Jacques at trial, Doherty-Wirwicz cites two incidents.

The first occurred during a "Back the Blue" rally in West Roxbury on Sept. 30. The prosecutor, citing a Boston Police report, said Jacques was seen threatening individuals through a bullhorn, then chasing a vehicle on foot while it was moving slowly through traffic. The report alleges that Jacques was "banging on the driver's door," telling him to get out "so he could '(expletive) him up,'" and then called the driver a homophobic slur.

In the other incident the prosecutor is seeking to use against Jacques at trial, Swampscott police Capt. Joseph Kable told an independent investigator that he saw Jacques "half dancing and shadowboxing with the person in front of him," challenging the man to a fight by saying "you and me tough guy, we're going go down the street, we're going to take care of this."

Doherty-Wirwicz told the judge that she intends to provide full transcripts of those interviews as soon as they are available.

Erkan, reached for comment after the hearing, said both allegations are not only false but, he believes, also inadmissible under the rules of evidence.

He said in the West Roxbury encounter, Jacques was the victim, saying that the driver had been circling the rotary where the demonstration took place, got "very close" to Jacques, then hit the megaphone Jacques was using. Erkan also questioned the credibility of the Boston officer who wrote the report.

Erkan suggested that during the second alleged incident, the man had threatened to kill Jacques and others.

Moments before Jacques's hearing Wednesday, a pro-Trump protester who allegedly spat at and coughed on a Black Lives Matter demonstrator in late December was arraigned.

Scott Marberblatt, 59, of 38 Winshaw Road, Swampscott, pleaded not guilty to an assault and battery charge. He remains free on personal recognizance with an order that he stay away from the victim. A pre-trial hearing was set for May 13.

Police say Marberblatt, who was not wearing a mask, told the BLM demonstrators that "all lives matter" and then deliberately coughed and spit at a young man who was there with his mother — in view of a police officer and captured on camera.

He was one of three Trump supporters charged that day with various offenses.

The demonstrations, which have taken place since last spring near the home of Gov. Charlie Baker, began as protests over the governor's orders to shut down businesses and other public places at the start of the pandemic, but eventually evolved into pro-Trump rallies.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.