KENOSHA — Juror number seven was dismissed from duty after the third day of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial for an off color joke he made while being escorted out of the courthouse about the shooting of Jacob Blake. This happened before day three of the trial.
Once the judge found out, he asked if the juror would like to repeat the joke in front of the courthouse. The juror declined. He was subsequently removed from his post as a jury member.
While this is the trial for Kyle Rittenhouse, this all stems from the protests that followed the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer.
Days after the juror was removed, Jacob Blake's uncle, Justin Blake, said that it was the right decision.
"Oh that's the first right thing he's done thus far."
Justin Blake has been critical of the jury selection process already. He believes it should have taken longer than one day to select the jury, and instances like these could have been avoided.
"The fact of the matter is this guy was sitting on a very important jury. They picked the jury in one day. You know, this isn't a bump and run. This isn't a shoplifting case. This is a double murder case, and in our opinion, it should have taken longer than a week. At least a couple of days to pick a jury, and i think we would be able to weed out like this guy."
On Tuesday, the Rittenhouse trial will continue into its sixth day. Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two during the protest. He claims it was in self-defense. He could face life in prison on the most serious charges.