Video Emerges of Cops Catching NBC Producer Following Rittenhouse Jurors
The stop led Judge Bruce Schroeder to ban MSNBC from the rest of the trial
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A police video shows an NBC producer being stopped by cops after following jurors in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial.
Kenosha police released bodycam footage earlier this week showing an officer pulling over James Joseph Morrison.
The stop led Judge Bruce Schroeder to ban MSNBC from the rest of the trial.
“I work for NBC,” Morrison explained to police.
He was then asked if he was “following a vehicle,” after a Law&Crime report showed he allegedly jumped a red light while following the anonymous jurors’ van.
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“I was trying to see — I was being called by New York, going, maybe these are people you need to follow, but I, I don’t know,” Morrison explained.
“I was trying to… just do what they told me to do,” he said, confirming that his NBC bosses told him to follow the vehicle.
“I mean, it was discreet … I wasn’t, like, you know, going to talk to anybody or anything."
"Just trying to find a location, that’s all,” he said.
WATCH:
Kenosha Police to NBC: “Why do you have reporters or producers following vehicles out here?” pic.twitter.com/UqplyRUIFd
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Morrison then called booking producer Irene Byon, and she nervously confirmed Morrison’s instructions.
“We were just keeping our distance, just to see where people involved in the trial are positioned,” Byon told the officer, adding the network had “people positioned in different areas in the courthouse.”
“By no means were we trying to get in contact with any of the jury members or whoever’s in the car,” she claimed.
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The officer then gave a firm message.
“We’re going to ask you to not do that,” he told them.
“That is a concern here — this is huge. We can’t afford anything crazy happening. Putting people in dangerous positions,” he said.
Byon replied, “Got it, understood … we’re very sorry,” with Morrison also quietly adding, “I’m very sorry.”
Morrison was then cited for violating a red traffic light, according to police docs.
“Ultimately, there was no arrest for jury tampering because police interrupted any opportunity to do so,” Kenosha Police Lt. Joseph Nosalik told Law&Crime.
But NBC News insisted that Morrison was just a freelancer, according to a statement.
“While the traffic violation took place near the jury van, the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations, and never photographed or intended to photograph them,” the network said.
“We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation.”
