Last Updated on February 17, 2022
Last night a contractor working for MSNBC was caught by police following the jury bus after they had left court where they deliberated the fate of Kyle Rittenhouse.
Judge Schroeder announced that an MSNBC employee was caught following the Kyle Rittenhouse trial jury bus in what he described as a “very serious matter.”
The jury was leaving the courthouse in a bus that had the windows blocked to protect the identities of the jurors, when an individual following the bus ran a red light and was caught by police. The individual, named James Morrison, claimed have been instructed by Irene Byon of NBC in New York to follow the jury and photograph them.
Man claims to be James T. Morrison of MSNBC. He says he was under orders to follow and photograph the jury, per the judge.
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) November 18, 2021
As a result, MSNBC will no longer be allowed inside the courtroom for the duration of the trial, and the matter is under further investigation.
https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1461389496646258700?s=20
Critics online have accused MSNBC of attempting to reveal the identities of the jurors to influence them into finding Rittenhouse guilty.
Following the incident, a Twitter user that appears to be Irene Byon deactivated their account.
.@MSNBC producer Irene Min Joo Byon just nuked her twitter account following allegations of jury indication pic.twitter.com/PUc8MRDO3s
— AntifaWatch (@AntifaWatch2) November 18, 2021
It also appears that Irene Byon has deleted her LinkedIn profile amid the allegations. “Irene Byon, implicated in instructing a [reporter] to follow the Jury Bus has nuked her LinkedIn,” tweeted podcast host Tim Pool. “Court TV reporter claims to know Morrison.”
“This is looking legit like MSNBC tried to expose the jurors identities.”
Irene Byon, implicated in instructing a reported to follow the Jury Bus has nuked her Linkedin
Court TV reporter claims to know Morrison
This is looking legit like MSNBC tried to expose the jurors identites pic.twitter.com/oEmDi0hxsT
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) November 18, 2021
NBC issued a statement denying the allegations: “Last night, a freelancer received a traffic citation. 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 media outlet claimed. “We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation.”
https://twitter.com/crabcrawler1/status/1461395933086818314
MSNBC has now been banned from the court room for the duration from the trial.
Judge: "A person who identified as James Jim Morrison and claimed that he was a producer with NBC News, MSNBC under the supervision of someone named Irene Byon" was pulled over for following the bus of Kyle Rittenhouse jurors last night.
Judge bans MSNBC from courthouse pic.twitter.com/PQ6RPCdDtz
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 18, 2021