January 1, BREAKING: Judge bans MSNBC from Rittenhouse trial

The Wisconsin judge presiding over Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial banned MSNBC from the courtroom after one of its producers followed the jury bus, attempting to take pictures of jurors on Wednesday evening.

Judge Bruce Shroeder addressed the matter in a brief statement on Thursday afternoon.

“I have instructed that nobody from MSNBC News be permitted in this building for the duration of this trial,” Schroeder said from the bench. “This is a very serious matter and I don’t know what the ultimate truth of it is, but absolutely it would go without much thinking that someone who is following a jury bus, that is a very … that is an extremely serious matter and will be referred to the proper authorities for further action.” 

On Wednesday night, a local news outlet reported that a producer for NBC News was arrested after allegedly trying to take photos of the jurors. The Kenosha Police Department said the man didn’t take any pictures, but they did charge him for a traffic violation.

“The police stopped him because he was following in the distance of about a block and went through a red light, pulled him over, and inquired of him what was going on and he gave that information. He stated he was instructed by [a supervisor] in New York to follow the jury bus,” Schroeder said.

“There was no breach of security regarding the jury, nor were there any photographs obtained,” Kenosha police said.

NBC News identified the employee as a freelancer and denied he’d been told to follow the jurors.

“While the traffic violation took place near the jury van, the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations, and never photographed or intended to photograph them,” NBC News said in a statement. “We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation.”

The incident is still under investigation.

Source:

Rittenhouse judge kicks out MSNBC for allegedly following jury bus