An alternate juror on the Derek Chauvin trial told a local news that she "did not want to go through rioting and destruction again" and "was concerned about people coming to [her] house if they were not happy with the verdict."
The juror, Lisa Christensen, also revealed how the riots which broke out in Brooklyn Center in the middle of the trial were right by her house.
Tensions between police and some protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Daunte Wright, 20, said that he was shot by police in Plymouth on Sunday afternoon before getting back into his car and driving to Brooklyn Center, where he crashed the car and was pronounced dead. pic.twitter.com/9h8QBNKMcx
— Carlos Gonzalez (@CarlosGphoto) April 12, 2021
"When I came home, I could hear the helicopters flying over my house... I could hear the flash bangs going off," Christensen said. "If I stepped outside, I could see the smoke from the grenades. One day, the trial ran a little late, and I had trouble getting to my house, because the protesters were blocking the interstate, so I had to go way around."
JUST IN - #BLM crowd starting to jump on police cars after officer-involved shooting in #Minneapolispic.twitter.com/ZgVqapnair
— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) April 12, 2021
This is the clearest picture yet of the terroristic intimidation jurors faced to ensure Chauvin was found guilty in what was fundamentally a rigged show trial.
That the trial was not moved out of Minneapolis is a sick joke but since Charlottesville this has become the new normal.
From KARE 11, "'I wish it didn't have to happen': Alternate juror reflects on Derek Chauvin trial":
MINNEAPOLIS — A woman who sat as an alternate on the jury that found Derek Chauvin guilty in George Floyd's murder is speaking out about what it was like to parse through nearly three weeks of testimony in the former Minneapolis officer's high-profile trial.
Brooklyn Center resident Lisa Christensen told KARE 11's Lou Raguse about her role on the jury, as another police killing unfolded in her neighborhood.
Christensen, who lives in the city where a white officer shot and killed a 20-year-old Black man during a traffic stop this month, said that if she had been part of deliberations, she would've found Chauvin guilty. But Christensen had no idea that she was one of two alternates until the judge dismissed her right before the 12 jurors were sequestered.
Raguse: Did you know that you were going to be an alternate in this case?
Christensen: No, I did not.
Raguse: Were you disappointed when you found out that you were an alternate?
Christensen: I was. I spent three weeks of my time, getting invested and going through all kinds of emotions. My heart broke a little when he turned and said, “Number 96, you’re an alternate."
Raguse: When you made it on the jury, how much did you know about the case and what were your thoughts on being a part of it?
Christensen: I saw the video, but not in its entirety. I saw it two or three times on the news. I do not use social media, so I did not post anything or see anything on there.
Raguse: You are the perfect juror in that aspect. You came in with about as clean a slate as somebody can have, considering how big of a case this was.
Christensen: Yeah, I did tell them that I saw the settlement run across the bottom of the screen one day.
Raguse: What did that settlement mean to you?
Christensen: I knew it was a separate case. I knew civil cases are different with different rules, so it did not affect me. I was not surprised there was a settlement, but I was surprised they announced it beforehand.
Raguse: Did you want to be a juror?
Christensen: I had mixed feelings. There was a question on the questionnaire about it and I put I did not know. The reason, at that time, was I did not know what the outcome was going to be, so I felt like either way you are going to disappoint one group or the other. I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again and I was concerned about people coming to my house if they were not happy with the verdict.
[...] Raguse: There was another police shooting in your hometown during the trial. Did that impact you at all?
Christensen: It did not impact me as far as the trial went. However, only being about six blocks from the police department, I could hear everything. When I came home, I could hear the helicopters flying over my house... I could hear the flash bangs going off. If I stepped outside, I could see the smoke from the grenades. One day, the trial ran a little late, and I had trouble getting to my house, because the protesters were blocking the interstate, so I had to go way around. I was aware, but it did not affect me at all.
KARE 11 did not include Christensen's statements detailing what amounts to jury intimidation in their video report.
There's no reason to assume her fears were unique. All the jurors who ultimately ruled on the case were facing similar threats.
1/2: Vandals hurl decapitated pig’s head & animal blood at one-time home of former @SantaRosaPolice Ofc. Barry Brodd, who recently testified for the defense in ex-@MinneapolisPD Ofc. Derek Chauvin’s murder trial in the death of George Floyd. Hand statue at @santarosaplaza hit too pic.twitter.com/2DUziho4t3
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) April 18, 2021
UPDATE: “It’s potential that they freshly slaughtered a pig to accomplish this,” per @JRKuckerLT re vandals hurling pig head & blood at one-time home of ex-@SantaRosaPolice Ofc. Barry Brodd (pic) who defended ex-@MinneapolisPD Ofc. Derek Chauvin’s conduct in George Floyd case pic.twitter.com/tCJY19FtHk
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) April 20, 2021
Judge Peter Cahill threatened twice to declare a mistrial but refused to follow through -- no doubt out of fear -- and ultimately knelt before the mob.
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