Waukesha attack survivor on how a community comes together following a tragedy
Waukesha resident and parade victim Kimberlee Coronado on how a community comes together in a time of loss following the shooting that took place outside of Chicago.
Darrell Brooks Jr., the 40-year-old Milwaukee man accused of killing six people and mowing down dozens more at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last year, raged in court and called into question the credibility of witnesses while cross-examining them in court Thursday.
Brooks, who is representing himself, has repeatedly interrupted the court since the very beginning of his trial. On multiple occasions, Judge Jennifer Dorow has ordered him out the courtroom.
During the proceedings Thursday, she allowed him to speak at length but ultimately dismissed most of what he said as irrelevant, according to a transcript provided by FOX 6 Milwaukee.
Brooks also repeatedly interrupted Dorow, finally beginning a 50-minute rant and asserting that the court had a conflict of interest, and he had not been able to "face his accuser." At one point, he told the court he moves "for this case to be dismissed" on the grounds that he did not receive "certified copies" of court documents and claimed that "there are many other victims that are not talked about."
Darrell Brooks looks over documents during his trial at the Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022. Prosecutors allege Brooks, 40, killed six people and injured scores of others on Nov. 21. (Ebony Cox/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Finally, Dorow cut him off, and Waukesha District Attorney Sue Opper called Brooks' "sovereign citizen" arguments "ridiculous."
"The only argument I could discern in those 50 minutes is that this case be dismissed," Dorow said, adding that Brooks had failed to file a "proper motion."
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow presides as Darrell Brooks appears in a Waukesha County Circuit Court during his trial in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. Brooks, who is representing himself during the trial, is charged with driving into the Waukesha Christmas Parade last year, killing six people and injuring dozens more. (Mike De Sisti / The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
The haranguing followed Brooks' cross-examination of Laura Thein, a member of the "Dancing Grannies" group which had participated in the parade.
Thein said she saw Brooks' red SUV streak through the parade, striking multiple people.
Waukesha Christmas parade attack survivor Laura Thein, a member of the "Dancing Grannies" group, testifies in the trial of Darrell Brooks Jr. on Thursday Oct. 13, 2022. (FOX 6 Milwaukee)
"I looked around and there were so many bodies on the ground," she said. "I thought I was in a war."
However, Brooks asked her if she got a look at the driver.
"No, I don't have eyes in the back of my head," the survivor replied.
Thein's friend and fellow Dancing Granny, 79-year-old Virginia Sorenson, was killed in the attack, along with Jackson Sparks, 8, LeAnna Owen, 71, Tamara Durand, 52, Jane Kulich, 52 and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
Brooks initially pleaded not guilty by reason of mental defect, but reversed course before trial, fired his public defenders and sought to represent himself.
From a jail visitation room after his arrest, Brooks told Fox News Digital that he felt "dehumanized" and "demonized."
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Prior to this offense, Brooks had a 50-page rap sheet that included charges stemming from multiple attacks on women and other family members. He was released on $1,000 bail just days before the parade after allegedly beating up an ex-girlfriend, breaking her phone and running her over with the same SUV used in the attack. His first conviction came after a 1999 aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm.
The court recessed at noon CT for lunch.
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