LOUISVILLE, Ky.–Government officials prevented The Epoch Times from covering roughly the first five hours of the trial of John Johnson, the black nationalist militia leader accused of pointing his firearm at a group of law enforcement officers during a September 2020 racial justice protest in Louisville.
The May 23 jury selection for Johnson, the leader of the all-black militia Not [Expletive] Around Coalition (NFAC), was largely uneventful, according to the defendant’s attorney, Donald Meier.
But outside the courtroom, security guards from the U.S. Marshals Service prevented reporters from covering the jury selection.
The guards said jury selections are closed to the public—an inaccurate statement. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the public’s right to access criminal trials applies to jury selections….