Waukesha Christmas parade attack suspect Darrell Brooks was placed in a separate room Monday as the court attempted to begin the jury selection process in a trial over his alleged November rampage that killed six and injured dozens of innocent revelers.
Brooks, now 40, allegedly plowed an SUV through a procession down Main Street in Waukesha last November, fatally striking six and injuring dozens more. He asked to represent himself last week.
The judge ordered him removed from the court multiple times during the proceedings, in which Brooks complained about paperwork, claimed he didn’t recognize his own name and claimed to be a "sovereign citizen" not subject to the court’s jurisdiction, according to FOX 6 Milwaukee.
After another outburst, Judge Jennifer R. Dorow warned that she would hold Brooks in contempt of court, and eventually Waukesha District Attorney Sue Opper suggested a deputy place Brooks in a gag, according to the station.
"Obviously, this guy clearly has issues, and now you’re throwing sovereign citizen issues on top of it. There’s really no way that we’re going to see a typical jury trial," Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles-based former federal prosecutor following the case, told Fox News Digital on Monday.
And Brooks’ antics could provide him with ammunition for a future appeal, Rahmani added.
"It’s really going to be hard to try him in absentia because he’s representing himself," he said. "It creates an appellate issue, an unnecessary appellate issue. He has a right to be present, but obviously he doesn’t have a right to act the way that he is."
Dorow last week found Brooks fit to stand trial and allowed him to waive his right to have an attorney and represent himself — but Monday’s fiasco could lead to Brooks, at least temporarily, being deemed incompetent, as happened in the case against Idaho "cult mom" Lori Vallow, whose trial saw months of delays as she underwent mental health treatment, Rahmani said.
"Ultimately, her competency was restored," he said. "That’s something that may be in issue here."
Dorow did not permit the media to stream or broadcast the proceedings, and she limited news cameras to just 30 minutes of recording with no audio. But FOX 6 journalist Bret Lemoine shared updates from the courtroom during several breaks.
The Wisconsin court was attempting to select jurors for Brooks’ trial. Each of the six top charges, including the first-degree intentional homicide charge, carries a sentence of life in prison without parole.
From a jail visitation room after his arrest, Brooks told Fox News Digital that he felt "dehumanized" and "demonized."
Brooks went into the attack with a 50-page rap sheet that included charges stemming from multiple attacks on women and other family members, and he was released on $1,000 bail just days earlier after allegedly beating up an ex-girlfriend, breaking her phone and running her over with the same SUV used in the parade attack.
According to police, he punched the same woman in the face before plowing through the parade.
Brooks’ violent past stretches back to 1999, when he was accused and later convicted of aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm.
This is a developing story. Check back with Fox News Digital for updates.
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