Guest post from Conservative Brief – Former Minneapolis police officer Chauvin, who was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, was found guilty on Tuesday on all charges.

A new interview with an alternate juror named Lisa Christensen, who lives in Brooklyn Center, provides new insight into the courtroom dynamics.

Lisa Christenson

And she flat-out admitted that the fear of “riots” would have swayed her decision if she did serve on the jury.

“I just had a fascinating sit-down interview with one of the alternate jurors in the Derek Chauvin trial,” Kare 11 reporter Lou Raguse said.

“Lisa Christensen was the juror who lived in Brooklyn Center. One night she could hardly make it home after testimony ended because of protesters blocking intersections.”

“Christensen thought Derek Chauvin was guilty,” Raguse continued. “Dr. Martin Tobin was the witness who influenced her the most toward that conclusion.”

“That demonstration where the jurors felt their necks? Extremely effective,” he said.

“She went home every night and took additional notes about how each witness,” he continued. “When he turned and said, Number 96, you’re an alternate, yeah, my heart broke a little bit.”

Here is the part where we begin to get a better picture of the immense pressure these jurors were under to deliver a “guilty” verdict.

“This was shocking to me, but Christensen told me she and the other jurors didn’t even share their real names and occupations with each other,” Raguse said. “Just called each other by juror number. Got along but mostly made small talk. Concerned about saying ‘too much.’”

Christenson outright admitted that jury intimidation played a major part in the trial.

WATCH:

Politicians, mainly on the Democrat side of the aisle, have seized the Floyd case and used it as a soapbox to call for more police reform.

Among them, Joe Biden, who called Floyd’s brother after the prosecution and defense, gave closing arguments.

Then there was California Rep. Maxine Waters, who caused controversy when she called for protesters to be “more confrontational” if Chauvin was not found guilty of murder.

After the prosecution and defense gave their closing arguments in the case on the death of Floyd, the judge in the case said that Waters’ comments made this weekend could be cause for an appeal if Chauvin is convicted.

“An elected official, a United States congressperson, was making what I interpreted to be — what I think are reasonably interpreted to be — threats against the sanctity of the jury process,” Chauvin’s attorney, Eric J. Nelson, said.

Judge Peter A. Cahill absolutely scorched Waters in his response, in which he declined to declare a mistrial in the case.

“I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” the judge said.

“I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that’s disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function,” he said, adding that it is disrespectful to the “coequal branches of government.”

“Their failure to do so is abhorrent,” he said.

“Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past. If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter.

Here is Christenson’s interview in its entirety:

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