Fort Lauderdale, Florida (AP) – Congressmen defending Florida school killer Nicholas Cruz were forced to step back and surround him Tuesday after he was threatened by a jury member and caused “excitement” to others. Potential fight, officials said.
A group of 70 potential jurors entered the courtroom and sat in their seats when one of the first to enter, a man in his thirties, began “speaking orally” to Cruz, District Judge Elizabeth Scherer said. Cruz, 23, faces the death penalty for murdering 17 Parkland Marjorie at Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.
The bailiffs hurried to avoid the man, who shook his head loudly and repeatedly said, “It’s scary,” as he followed reporters sitting in the back of the courtroom.
At the time, many other jurors were “excited” and saying something they hadn’t heard, Scherer said. Then the first man with the back shoulder began to look at Cruz. Half a dozen armed deputies, still standing at the back of the cruise, were caught and surrounded, for fear that the first jury would run towards them and the rest would join them.
“The sheriff’s office observed all of this and determined they needed Mr. Cruz’s protection,” Scherer said.
“One is motivated and then a lot of followers,” explained Oswaldo Tianga, Sheriff Broward’s captain, the court’s head of security.
Melissa McNeill, Cruz’s Chief Ombudsman, told Scherer that she understands that the MPs ’first priority is to protect Cruz and the people in the courtroom, but she doesn’t realize it needs her physical relocation.
“I realize it’s a job. I’m not going to provoke their actions,” McNeill said. But he wonders if MPs can stand between the cruise and the threat if something like this happens again.
Tiang said every situation is different, but he considers his proposal.
Cruz pleaded guilty in October. A jury of 12 members and eight alternates will be selected through a two -month, three -step process to decide whether to receive a death sentence or life imprisonment without parole. More than 1,800 jurors appeared in the courtroom, most without incident, after the trial began on April 4.
The 60-member panel is due to be removed on April 12 after the eight seemed pleased when they saw the cruise, which may have affected others. About a dozen others were quietly removed from the various panels as they began to cry.
Colleagues were not told they were raised as potential Cruz jurors, although South Florida knew the trial had already begun. At this point, potential jurors will only be asked if they can deliver the estimated length of the trial from June to September. Those who can will return next month for further inquiry.
Tuesday is a boring and routine day. There has been a significant difference since Monday when Scherer announced he would cut down the 250 potential jurors who had already been screened for possible mistakes and start the selection process again. Two panels of 70 men with no significant incidents were presented. Several potential jurors were quietly brought outside to cry.
But things have changed since the first panel was introduced after lunch. Most of the views were on the jury, Cruz’s lawyers caught the bailiffs’ attention and pointed out their No. That led to the withdrawal of the cruise for protection.
Leaving the courtroom, the man told lawmakers he was not trying to harass, but he was emotional and wanted to curse Cruz, using obscenity to express his opinion, according to a reporter in the hallway.
Scherer and his lawyers quickly met in the courtroom, then the judge dismissed the entire panel, which he said turned into “warriors” as they waited in the elevator for them to return to the lobby and “beat” the deputies.
The jury that started it all told lawmakers that they – or perhaps the system – had traumatized potential jurors.
Scherer said lawmakers escorted the group from court to make sure they had nothing to say to the promising jurors waiting to be brought to his courtroom.
Jury selection will resume on Wednesday.
Source: Huffpost
