Judge Bruce Schroeder banned staff from MSNBC from entering the Kenosha courthouse Thursday.
Schroeder briefly spoke about an incident where an employee from MSNBC was allegedly following the jury bus on Wednesday night.
“I have instructed that no one from MSNBC news will be permitted in this building for the duration of this trial,” Schroeder said.
“This is a very serious matter and I don’t know what the ultimate truth of it is, but absolutely it would go without much thinking that someone who is following the jury bus – that is an extremely serious matter and will be referred to the proper authorities for further action,” he added.
The man following the bus was identified as James J. Morrison and said he was instructed to do so. He also claimed to be working for an MSNBC producer based in New York.
The Kenosha Police Department tweeted “Last night a person who is alleging to be affiliated with a national media outlet was briefly taken into custody and issued several traffic related citations. Police suspect this person was trying to photograph jurors”.
“There was no breach of security regarding the jury, nor were there any photographs obtained. This investigation remains active and open, no further information,” the department said.
NBC News told Fox News Digital that Morrison was a freelance MSNBC employee but said he did not try to contact or photograph the jurors.
“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,” an NBC spokesperson said.
Schroeder reported that Morrison was ticketed for running a red light and said “The jury in this case is being transported from a different location in a bus with windows covered”.