Schroeder, as Will Bunch explored on Twitter and at the Philadelphia Inquirer, has a troubling history of pushing “law and order” politics in his courtroom, as well as indulging in dubious courtroom behavior and head-scratching rulings. He already had informed attorneys in the case that they could not describe the three men as “victims,” but would permit defense attorneys to describe them as “looters,” “rioters,” or “arsonists,” even though none of the three were ever accused of those crimes.
This week, Schroeder also:
Called on the court to applaud a defense witness, who was there to testify that Rittenhouse was justified in taking two lives, for being a veteran. Schroeder, noting that it was Veterans Day, asked if anyone in the court was a veteran; when witness John Black said he was, Schroeder called for the court to applaud him. Jurors joined in on the applause.
Rejected video of Rittenhouse shooting one of his victims, claiming the using Apple’s zoom functions might distort the image. “iPads, which are made by Apple, have artificial intelligence in them that allow things to be viewed through three-dimensions and logarithms,” defense attorneys insisted. “It uses artificial intelligence, or their logarithms, to create what they believe is happening. So this isn’t actually enhanced video, this is Apple’s iPad programming creating what it thinks is there, not what necessarily is there.” Schroeder agreed.
Kept forgetting to silence his phone, whose ringtone is the Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the USA.” The song is the anthem of the tea party/“Patriot” right, and is used at Trump rallies as his entrance theme.
Refused to permit prosecutors to ask defense witness Drew Hernandez, a pseudo-journalist who specializes in filming and posting misleadingly edited videos about antifascists and anti-police protesters, about his work for former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s Real America’s Voice network. Hernandez also was present at the Jan. 6 insurrection inside the Capitol, before which he had spoken at the “Stop the Steal” rally, telling the crowd: "We punch back, we fight back. Because we will not go down without a fight. We will not go down without bloodshed. If they want a second civil war, then they got one. I will fight to the very last breath." Schroeder ruled that the jury could not learn about his background because “this is not a political trial.”
Tried to make a joke to the court, after the jury had filed out, about the lunch that had been ordered that day: “I hope the Asian food isn’t coming … isn’t on one of those boats from Long Beach Harbor.” (The joke went over the heads of everyone who wasn’t a regular viewer of Fox News, which has repeatedly run stories about supply chain issues for Asian goods coming in to Long Beach—issues that in fact are primarily the result of Donald Trump’s trade wars with China and other nations.)