(MINNEAPOLIS) — A man was arrested for allegedly harassing the judge overseeing the trial of Kim Potter, the former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, officer who shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April.
A group protested Judge Regina Chu last month for her decision to ban cameras inside the courtroom during the trial and rallied outside an apartment building in Minneapolis, where they believed the judge lived, according to court documents.
Cortez Rice, 32, was among the protesters and went inside the building while others remained outside, investigators said. Rice allegedly made his way to the 12th floor, live streaming his actions on YouTube, according to the complaint.
“I think this is her crib right here,” Rice was allegedly filmed saying outside a door, according to the complaint.
The defendant walked down to the lobby where other protesters asked him if the building was the right location, the complaint said.
“That’s her window on the 12th floor,” Rice said, according to the complaint.
Rice was also heard yelling to Chu, “We demand transparency. We’d hate you to get kicked out of your apartment,” the complaint said.
Judge Chu spoke with investigators and said she “believed she was the target of Rice and the other protestors,” and “it was her belief the intention was to intimidate her and to interfere with the judicial process.”
Rice was arrested last week and charged with felony harassment with aggravated violations — tampering with a juror or retaliating against a judicial officer, the complaint said. The defendant is currently being held at the Waukesha County Jail in Wisconsin and is awaiting extradition, court papers show.
Rice’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to messages from ABC News for comment.
Opening arguments in Potter’s criminal trial are slated to begin on Wednesday.
Potter has been charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Wright, a 20-year-old Black man. In April, Potter stopped Wright’s car over for an expired registration tag.
She then determined he had an outstanding warrant for a gross misdemeanor weapons charge and tried to detain him, according to former Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, who resigned after the incident.
As officers tried to arrest him, Wright freed himself and tried to get back in his vehicle. That’s when, according to Potter’s attorneys, she accidentally grabbed her firearm instead of her stun gun and shot him.
The incident, which was captured on body worn cameras, set off more protests against police violence and racial profiling in Minnesota.
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