Judge Declares Mistrial on First Day of Prairieland Trial
Fort Worth, TX – The trial of nine protesters accused of a laundry list of extreme charges stemming from a noise demo outside the Prairieland ICE detention facility last year began and was abruptly delayed Tuesday when the judge declared a mistrial during jury selection.
The case has gained national attention as civil rights organizations and activists have warned about the potential it has to set precedents for criminalizing resistance to ICE, and dissent against an authoritarian administration more broadly, as domestic terrorism.
The sprawling case has seen a total of 19 people arrested and charged with a variety of extreme crimes including domestic terrorism and attempted murder of a federal employee. Some defendants accepted plea deals late last year, but remaining Prairieland defendants were prepared to go to trial this week.
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Though cameras and other recording devices weren’t allowed in the courtroom, observers and supporters present inside the court described an agitated U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee, abruptly ending court for the day after jurors began answering questions as part of the selection process.
Pitmann reportedly commented on one defense attorney’s shirt which depicted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Shirley Chisholm and other civil rights leaders, apparently in homage to the recently-deceased Jesse Jackson, according to reporting by KERA.
Pittman commented on MarQuetta Clayton, who is representing defendant Maricela Rueda, wearing the shirt after stopping jury selection because he was frustrated with her line of questioning to potential jurors, according to KERA.
Now, the trial will need to be reset after a new jury pool has been called up, which is set to happen Monday.
In the days leading up to the trial, organizations and individuals had ramped up support efforts. From teach-ins and letter writing events, to call-in campaigns pressuring the jail where defendants are being held to improve conditions, to showing up to support defendants in court, people have increasingly recognized the gravity of the case, which many see as a bellwether for how the administration will treat protesters moving forward.
But as support swelled, so too has the state’s harsh treatment of the defendants, who remain in custody awaiting trial.
Ten days before the trial began Tuesday, the nine defendants were transferred to the Tarrant County jail, where supporters say they were housed in inhumane conditions in solitary cells caked in human waste, lacking access to working showers. The defendants are to remain housed there for the rest of the now-delayed trial.
All of the defendants set to go to trial this week have been held without bail since their initial arrests due to the seriousness of the crimes they’re alleged to have committed. One defendant, Daniel “Des” Rolando Sanchez, was briefly released last year before being taken back into custody after what the court called a mistaken release.
The trial is set to resume Monday, February 23, with an all new jury pool.
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