Man Charged with Trying to Intimidate Judge in Former MN Officer's Trial

A Minneapolis man has been charged with trying to intimidate the Hennepin County District Court judge presiding over the manslaughter trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter.

Cortez A. Rice was charged last week with tampering with a judicial officer, a felony, in connection with allegations that he went into the Loring Park condominium building where he thought Judge Regina Chu lived and made comments meant to intimidate her into allowing broadcast coverage of the trial of Potter, who is charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in April.

The criminal complaint was unsealed late Friday afternoon, four days after the 32-year-old Rice was booked into jail in Waukesha County, Wis. It was not immediately clear why he was in that part of Wisconsin. A warrant has been issued in Hennepin County for his arrest and return to Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports.

Chu later approved live video coverage of the tria l, but she made clear that the demands of protesters were not a factor. The decision was based on the need to maximize viewing of the proceedings while limiting the number of people in the courtroom during the pandemic, she wrote in her order.