‘Screams Came From Everywhere’—Wisconsin Christmas Parade Massacre Victims Confront Darrell Brooks In Sentencing Trial

Topline

Victims who were injured and had friends and family members die when Darrell Brooks drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last November, addressed him for the first time in a sentencing trial Tuesday morning, as he faces the potential of life in prison for killing six and injuring dozens.

Key Facts

Jeff Rogers, whose children were injured in the attack, asked for a maximum sentence for Brooks, who was found guilty last month on 76 charges, including first-degree homicide, reckless endangerment, deadly hit and run, jumping bail, misdemeanor battery and domestic abuse.

Lori Lochen, one of the 62 people injured, told Brooks it “truly amazes me that you deny your accountability for the damage and hurt you have willfully caused,” while Bill Mitchell, who suffered broken ribs in the attack, said, “the only regrets (Brooks) seemed to have had is that he was caught and the impact on his own life.”

Brooks held his hands in prayer and in some instances chuckled under his breath during the proceedings.

Brooks, 40, is set to be sentenced Wednesday, Judge Jennifer Dorow said—and he’s likely to face life in prison.

The six homicide counts he faces carry a mandatory life sentence and each endangerment count carries a maximum sentence of 17 and a half years—legal experts expect Dorow to tack the life sentences one after another, giving Brooks no chance of parole, the Associated Press reported.

Crucial Quote

Jessica Gonzalez, whose two children attended the parade, said she screamed “hysterically, searching frantically” for her son, one of the children injured by Brooks’ SUV. “I saw his little body in his (jersey), his eyes looking up, looking nowhere. I knew he was hurt badly,” she testified, adding, “What does it feel like to attend a funeral of a child your age? I hate that my kids know.”

Tangent

In a bizarre twist to the court proceedings, Brooks, who pleaded not guilty and chose to represent himself, declared himself a “sovereign citizen” in a bid to skirt federal law by arguing he falls outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. court system. The so-called sovereign citizen movement is rooted in a wider, and baseless, conspiracy theory that the Constitution was secretly replaced with admiralty law—the system of governing international commerce—and that judges and lawyers are foreign agents, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC denounces the theory as “pseudo-legal nonsense.” Defendants who cite the conspiracy theory, including a group of armed men that led Massachusetts State Police into a standoff on Interstate 95 last summer, refuse the authority of the federal government, its licenses and taxes, according to SPLC research analyst Freddy Cruz, Boston NPR station WBUR reported.

Key Background

Brooks injured 62 people and killed six, including an 8-year-old child when he rammed his Ford Explorer through a barricade into the Waukesha Christmas parade last November. State prosecutors have said he barreled into the crowd traveling at 40 mph after he assaulted his girlfriend and fled from her house, according to local police. In an attempt to stop or slow down his SUV, at least one officer had fired shots at the vehicle as it approached the parade. Local police apprehended Brooks shortly after, identifying him as the lone suspect in the horrifying attack. Brooks initially pleaded not guilty in February by reason of insanity, but withdrew his insanity plea in September, changing it to simply “not guilty.”

Further Reading

SUV Driver Convicted Of Homicide For Deadly Wisconsin Parade Attack (Forbes)

Wisconsin Parade Attack Suspect Breaks Down In Court As Interruption-Filled Trial Moves Forward (Forbes)

Victims ready to speak at Christmas parade crash sentencing (Associated Press)