Kyle Rittenhouse jurors could be unnerved by spectators, protesters: Andrew McCarthy

Andrew McCarthy, a former U.S. Attorney, discussed the possible factors that may influence the Rittenhouse jurors' deliberations on "America's Newsroom."

ANDY MCCARTHY: I'm worried about it, and I've been worried about it. And I think it's not just a matter of what's going on outside the courthouse, which I agree is egregious and worrisome. But I think that we spent a lot of time covering the [Derek] Chauvin trial, and we got a sense, because we were at it every day, that that's the way trials go. But if you remember, the Chauvin case was during the COVID protocols and really there weren't spectators in the courtroom. …

In this case, it's been much more like pre-COVID times. So there's been spectators. And we know that there have been people in the courtroom who have been staring at the jurors, checking out the jurors. The cameras are moving around, which I think could unnerve the jurors in the sense that if they have video of what they look like, that could be broadcast to the public. They don't know exactly how that's being used because they're not supposed to be looking at publicity about the case. So it's not just what's going on outside the trial, outside the courthouse. And then you couple that with the fact that the judge is not sequestering them. He's letting them go home and come back. So they're getting some exposure to what's going on in the community.