From the start, the Derek Chauvin case was directed by mob justice and not the rule of law.
Chauvin was a volatile figure and probably didn’t earn sympathies from most of the country.
But his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury was tainted.
After speaking out publicly about the trial, new reports about Juror #52 (Brandon Mitchell) have surfaced that question his impartiality.
Here’s the latest:
Chauvin juror defends participation in Washington George Floyd protest even though he claimed he was impartial https://t.co/wEWbemDS7X
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) May 4, 2021
Here is Juror #52 who said he was impartial during jury questioning. Also runs a podcast. https://t.co/JaYM8RTwDj pic.twitter.com/LpmZ8bmD9L
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) May 2, 2021
Star Tribune running DAMAGE CONTROL on the narrative BOMBS dropped yesterday by Poso https://t.co/l3JVwaNQzi
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) May 4, 2021
Does this help Chauvin get an appeal? https://t.co/02eOGbdW1f
— The Western Journal (@WestJournalism) May 3, 2021
Uh oh. Chauvin juror seen in picture before trail wearing BLM hat and George Floyd shirt… DoG https://t.co/wKTPgBXMWa
— Dog (@u2biker) May 4, 2021
Derek Chauvin juror #brandonmitchell told the trial judge he could be impartial.
He now claims he was pulled over by police officers dozens of times in the past for “no reason, just because I'm black".
He was also wearing #BLM clothing before he became a juror.#mondaythoughts pic.twitter.com/Hh40mHAqHL
— Dr. Jimmy Yam (@JimmyJoeYam) May 3, 2021
Chauvin juror exposed as BLM activist… https://t.co/sgyOVDDSbB
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 3, 2021
The first Chauvin juror to speak out publicly also happens to be a BLM activist who lied to get on the jury and has admitted that he saw it as an opportunity to “spark social change.”
The verdict should be thrown out. This wasn’t a fair trial. There’s no getting around it now.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 4, 2021
Short answer: a juror lied to get on the jury to get a conviction. #ChauvinTrial https://t.co/A8YdYi63bt
— Robert Barnes (@barnes_law) May 4, 2021
Judge Cahill asked Juror #52, whether he heard anything about the #GeorgeFloyd civil case. He says, no. He explained hearing some basic info about trial dates, etc from the news in recent months, but nothing that would keep him from serving as impartial juror. #ChauvinTrial
— Paul Blume (@PaulBlume_FOX9) March 15, 2021
Here’s the moment Juror #52 (Brandon Mitchell) from the Chauvin trial talks about jury duty as a means for societal change. pic.twitter.com/xewZitQXvq
— Janet (@janetburke27) May 2, 2021
Regardless if you think Chauvin is guilty or innocent, these developments boost the defense’s case for an appeal.
The Post Millennial reported:
A juror on the Derek Chauvin trial who told the court that he had no prior knowledge of the George Floyd civil case was photographed last August wearing a shirt that read “Get your knee off our necks” and “BLM.” He stated last week that he saw jury duty as a means to “spark some change.”
Juror #52, now identified as Brandon Mitchell, reportedly told Judge Cahill on March 15 that he had no prior knowledge of the case prior to being summoned for jury duty.
Mitchell is the first juror in the Chauvin trial to speak openly about the deliberations.
Speaking in a show called Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell on April 27, Mitchell said that people should say yes to jury duty as a means to promote societal change.
“I mean it’s important if we wanna see some change, we wanna see some things going different, we gotta into these avenues, get into these rooms to try to spark some change,” he said. “Jury duty is one of those things. Jury duty. Voting. All of those things we gotta do.”
According to Minneapolis’ FOX 9 reporter Paul Blume, who livetweeted the case on March 15, “Judge Cahill asked Juror #52, whether he heard anything about the #GeorgeFloyd civil case. He says, no. He explained hearing some basic info about trial dates, etc from the news in recent months, but nothing that would keep him from serving as impartial juror. #ChauvinTrial”
“Juror #52 wrote in his jury questionnaire that he wondered why other police officers at the scene did not intervene in #GeorgeFloyd deadly arrest. He recognizes the historic nature of the case. Defense says he is an acceptable juror. So state’s turn to question,” Blume added.
And from The Western Journal:
But a social media post recently unearthed from seven months earlier showed him wearing a “Black Lives Matter” hat and a t-shirt emblazoned with the message “Get your knee off our necks” — a reference to the manner of Floyd’s death — and “BLM.”
“Here is Juror #52 who said he was impartial during jury questioning,” commentator Jack Posobiec tweeted with a screenshot of the Facebook post that is now either private or unavailable. “Also runs a podcast,” he added referring to Mitchell’s “The Wholesome Podcast” on Spotify.
Paul Blume of KMSP-TV was live-tweeting the jury selection process and described how Mitchell made it through voir dire.
“Judge Cahill asked Juror #52, whether he heard anything about the #GeorgeFloyd civil case,” Blume wrote March 15.
“He says, no. He explained hearing some basic info about trial dates, etc from the news in recent months, but nothing that would keep him from serving as impartial juror,” he said.
“Juror #52 wrote in his jury questionnaire that he wondered why other police officers at the scene did not intervene in #GeorgeFloyd deadly arrest,” the thread continued.
“He recognizes the historic nature of the case. Defense says he is an acceptable juror. So state’s turn to question,” Blume said.
The jury was eventually comprised of two multiracial, four black and six white members who convicted Chauvin of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Mitchell has spoken since the trial about serving as a juror as a way to “spark some change” and talked about not watching the Floyd video in its entirety beforehand because he didn’t want to see “a black man being killed” — sentiments that hardly convey impartiality.
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