• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Activist charged with intimidating Kim Potter trial judge

Cortez Rice

Cortez Rice (Waukesha County Jail)

December 5, 2021
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

Dec. 7, 2021

Cortez Rice, the BLM protester charged with intimidating the judge presiding over the trial for former police officer Kim Potter in the shooting of Daunte Wright, has been extradited to Minnesota. His first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., Fox News reported.

Rice, 32, of Minneapolis, is currently being held at Hennepin County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Dec. 5, 2021

HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. — A man described as a Minneapolis activist has been charged with attempting to intimidate Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu, the Kim Potter trial judge.

Potter is the former Brooklyn Center police officer who is facing manslaughter charges stemming from the April fatal shooting of Daunte Wright.

In a criminal complaint that was not unsealed until Friday, Cortez Rice, 32, has been charged with felony harassment with aggravated violations — tampering with a juror or retaliating against a judicial officer, KSTP reported. He was arrested in Waukesha County, Wisconsin on Monday.

Rice is accused of participating in a Nov. 6 demonstration outside a condominium complex in Minneapolis that he and other protesters believed to be where Chu lived. According to the criminal complaint, the purpose was to intimidate the judge so she would allow a camera inside the courtroom for Potter’s trial, Fox News reported.

Rice entered the complex while livestreaming himself on YouTube. “We on her heels,” he is heard saying in the video, according to court documents. “What she think … we want cameras. The people deserve to know,” the complaint says.

The activist proceeded to a 12th-floor unit, where he purportedly said, “I don’t know if this is her crib. I think this is her crib right here. We got confirmation that this is her house right here.”

Regina Chu
Judge Regina Chu (Screenshot Fox News)

Court documents apparently did not confirm if he focused on a unit belonging to the judge or if she was present.

The livestream that was broadcast from the complex was saturated with profanity also captured Rice threatening, “We are here for one person in particular.” He later shouted Chu’s name and called out, “We demand transparency. We’d hate you to get kicked out of your apartment,” the complaint obtained by the Minneapolis Star Tribune says.

Daunte Wright
Daunte Wright takes a selfie recording while brandishing a handgun prior to a robbery. Kim Potter is charged with manslaughter in his death. (Screenshot Fox News)

Chu told investigators afterwards that it “was her belief the intention was to intimidate her and to interfere with the judicial process,” KARE reported.

Initially, Chu ruled against livestreaming Potter’s trial. However, she later reversed her decision, citing the state of the coronavirus pandemic and the delta variant.

At the time of her decision, Chu addressed the recent protests at her home and said the demonstration had no impact on the reversal of her decision, Law Officer reported.

In her Nov. 9 ruling, she wrote, “The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we must have an independent judiciary and judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing, protests or attempts at intimidation.”

Jury selection for Potter’s trail wrapped up last week and opening arguments are set to begin Wednesday.

Kim Potter (YouTube)

Meanwhile, it was also revealed that about a month before the incident, Rice made an appearance before Chu on Oct. 4 after allegedly violating his probation following a 2017 conviction for illegal weapons possession. In a show of mercy, the judge ruled that Rice would be allowed to continue probation instead of returning him to custody.

As the timeless adage goes, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

The warrant for Rice’s arrest was issued on Nov. 24. He is currently being held at the Waukesha County Jail awaiting extradition back to Minnesota to face the charges out of Hennepin County. It’s unclear why he was in Waukesha, an area receiving substantial national news coverage due to the deadly Christmas parade massacre the weekend before Thanksgiving.


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Cortez RiceHennepin CountyMinnesotaRegina Chu
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is the only major law enforcement publication and website owned and operated by law enforcement—for law enforcement and supporters of justice, law, and order. This unique facet makes Law Officer much more than just a publishing company, but a true advocate for the law enforcement profession.

Related Posts

Mohamed Ali Elmi

Major drug dealer busted with over 65,000 fentanyl pills in Twin Cities

January 28, 2023
Leon Bond

Minnesotan sentenced to probation for third-degree murder

January 25, 2023
juvenile justice system

State rep wants to rethink the juvenile justice system in Minnesota

January 22, 2023
Mall of America shooting

Mother and son arrested in connection to Mall of America homicide

January 20, 2023
Virgil Green

Minnesota police chief apologizes for law enforcement appreciation post

January 19, 2023
Jesus saves

Video shows security booting man with ‘Jesus Saves’ shirt from Mall of America

January 17, 2023
Load More

Latest Articles

Alireza Heidari

Iranian illegal immigrant on terror watch list captured by Texas DPS near southern border

February 1, 2023
Gonzalo Carrasco

California police officer shot and killed while checking on ‘suspicious person’

February 1, 2023
Marine recruiters

Marine recruiters try to get members booted over vax mandate to rejoin

February 1, 2023
Sharaban K

Woman accused of murdering lookalike to fake own death, prosecutors say

February 1, 2023
Madison Russo

TikToker charged with conning people out of $37K with GoFundMe cancer scam

January 31, 2023
Israel Martinez Lopez

Illegal immigrant charged in third fatal Wisconsin crash in past two months

January 31, 2023
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2021 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2021 LawOfficer.com