Waukesha Parade Killer Darrell Brooks Boots Attorney Before Appeal, Decides to Represent Himself Again

The man convicted of killing six people after plowing into participants at the Waukesha, Wisconsin, Christmas parade in 2021 appears determined to defend himself as he appeals his conviction.

Darrell Brooks Jr. represented himself in his 2022 trial, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Brooks was sentenced to six consecutive life terms, with more than 700 years in prison tacked on after being convicted on 76 counts related to the attack, which injured dozens of people ranging in age from young children to senior citizens.

Chilling courtroom footage shows Darrell Brooks disrespecting the judge and ‘staring her down’, after he drove an SUV through the 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade, killing 6 and injuring 62 others.

On October 26, 2022, a jury found him guilty on all 76 charges.

He was sentenced… pic.twitter.com/3M37bufyn6

— Morbid Knowledge (@Morbidful) September 15, 2024

Brooks is seeking to shed Madison attorney Michael Covey, who has filed documents to extend the deadline for Brooks to file an appeal to June 27.

Covey filed a motion in Waukesha County Circuit Court to pull out of the case at the request of his former client.

The motion said Brooks would not receive another attorney appointed by the public defender’s office and said it would write Brooks “explaining the disadvantages of proceeding pro se [on his own behalf].”

Covey requested a hearing date where a judge would determine whether Brooks understands how to represent himself. The judge will rule on Covey’s request after that hearing.

“It’s kind of circular reasoning here because I imagine some of the appellate might have to do with the finding that Mr. Brooks was competent in the first place and how that went about.  It’s a tough situation because you’re dealing with a person where the issues of competency are issues in the case – whether at the trial level or appellate level,” criminal defense attorney Julius Kim, told WITI-TV.

During his trial, Brooks regularly shouted at Judge Jennifer Dorow, claiming his name was not Darrell Brooks and that Wisconsin had no jurisdiction over him, according to the U.K.’s Independent.

One day Brooks, who was often removed from the courtroom because of his behavior, took off his shirt. He then took a sign that had been given to him to signal objections and stuck it down his pants.

He also said at one point only “a living human brain” could bring a lawsuit, so the state could not testify against him.

Thomas Grieve, a former prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney, said at the time that Brooks had not created grounds for a mistrial with his antics.

Brooks has been muted. He’s stacked his boxes up in front of him. Judge says she can hear him yelling through the wall. #DarrellBrooks #SovereignCitizen pic.twitter.com/aOKugof4S0

— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) October 24, 2022

“You’re entitled to a fair trial. You’re not entitled to create your own mistrial,” he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections said last month Brooks was moved to a prison outside of Wisconsin on Jan. 13, according to WITI.

The department called the transfer part of “an interstate compact that allows individuals convicted in one state to serve their sentence in another state for their own safety,” according to the Journal-Sentinel, which reported that nothing had taken place to put Brooks at risk.

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