Authorities charged Cortez Rice, a Black Lives Matter protester, with aggravated violations, tampering with a judicial officer, and tampering with a juror after he allegedly tried to intimidate the judge in the Daunte Wright shooting trial.
***REMEMBER: Our live coverage of the Daunte Wright shooting trial continues tomorrow! Andrew Branca does a fabulous job covering these trials.
Wisconsin State Police took him in custody on November 30 when officers pulled him over and found him “allegedly operating without a valid driver’s license.”
Rice is back in Minnesota after being transported from Waukesha County Jail.
Judge Regina Chu is presiding over the trial of former police officer Kimberly Potter. She faces manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting of Wright.
Chu did not want cameras in the courtroom. On November 6, Rice and other protesters went to an apartment building in downtown Minneapolis where they thought Chu resided.
From The Minnesota StarTribune:
The complaint was filed on Nov. 24 and kept from public view for nine days. The prosecution argued to have the charging document kept under seal because “public disclosure … may cause [Rice] to flee, hide or otherwise prevent execution of the warrant” for his arrest.According to the complaint:Rice entered the apartment building and went to the floor where he believed Chu lived while livestreaming on YouTube.”We on her heels,” he was heard saying. “What she think … we want cameras. The people deserve to know.”Rice then stood outside an apartment door and said, “I don’t know if this is her crib. I think this is her crib right here. We got confirmation that this is her house right here.”He was later heard saying on his livestream amid threatening and profane language, “We are here for one person in particular.”He later yelled her name and said, “We demand transparency. We’d hate you to get kicked out of your apartment.”
Okay, so, this Rice guy. He seems to have been everywhere.
Rice gained attention after George Floyd because he claimed he was his nephew. I found videos on YouTube of outlets interviewing him as Floyd’s nephew! Floyd’s family eventually sent him a cease and desist letter.
Rice mentioned in his video that he knew someone in the courtroom during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.
How about this? Rice appeared before Chu in court on October 4th “in connection with a probation violation stemming from a conviction in 2017 for illegal weapons possession.” Chu allowed rice to continue his probation instead of sending him to prison.
So Rice already had a connection to Chu.
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