A high‑profile federal case in Fort Worth, Texas took an unexpected turn Tuesday when a judge declared a mistrial after a defense attorney sparked controversy by wearing a T‑shirt with civil rights imagery during jury selection.
The trial involved nine defendants accused of participating in a July 4 attack on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre an incident prosecutors have labelled a “domestic terrorism” act allegedly linked to anti‑fascist (Antifa) activism.
According to court records and reporting from multiple U.S. outlets, the lawyer, MarQuetta Clayton, was questioning potential jurors when the judge noticed her shirt, which featured faces of civil rights icons including Martin Luther King Jr. and Shirley Chisholm.
District Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump‑appointed jurist, concluded that the imagery could bias jurors and abruptly halted proceedings, dismissing the current jury pool.
The defence objected, with attorneys arguing that any potential influence could have been monitored and mitigated through standard questioning of jurors. However, Judge Pittman stood by his decision. The mistrial means the case will restart with a completely new panel of jurors next week.
The development has reignited debate in legal circles and the media over courtroom decorum and free expression. Some civil liberties advocates argue that the judge’s decision was overly conservative and unnecessary, while others support strict neutrality during jury selection to protect fair trial rights.
The case has broader significance: federal prosecutors’ decision to pursue terrorism‑related charges against protesters marks a rare and controversial legal strategy, and how the retrial unfolds may influence future protest‑related prosecutions nationwide.
