TULSA, Okla. — Update: (9/10/24) — According to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, Sheila Buck was found not guilty by the jury, concluding the trial on Monday.
The trial for a protestor arrested outside the 2020 Tulsa Trump rally started on Monday.
It’s been four years since Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Tulsa, and a protestor was arrested outside. On Monday, her trial started.
Sheila Buck is charged with obstructing a Tulsa police officer.
FOX23 learned about the new developments, as Buck’s defense centers around the First Amendment.
Jury selection began Monday morning in this case. In the first phase, the jury will hear factually what happened. In the second phase, the judge will address witnesses and testimony related to the defendant’s First Amendment defense.
Tulsa Police body cam video shows the arrest of Buck while she was protesting at the 2020 Tulsa Trump rally in downtown Tulsa.
Buck is charged with obstructing a police officer, which is a misdemeanor.
The jury will decide if there was obstruction and if she’s found guilty of that charge. Then, it will go to a second phase.
That phase will not include a jury and will determine if she can use the First Amendment as a defense.
FOX23 spoke with Buck’s attorney, Dan Smolen, on Monday.
“The court has taken it and said look, we’re not gonna put all of this in front of a jury because there’s a lot of legal issues that have to be resolved by the court,” he said.
On Tuesday, the court will start to hear witness testimony.
“Ultimately the judge is going to make a conclusion of law based on that as to whether or not the constitutional First Amendment protections exonerate her even if she had committed obstruction,” Sabah Kahlaf, Attorney, said.
Buck filed a lawsuit against the City of Tulsa and the Trump campaign claiming officers removed her from the rally because of the clothes she was wearing.
She was wearing a shirt that read, “I can’t breathe.”
That lawsuit is on hold until the court resolves the criminal case.
Buck’s attorney told FOX23 he expects the first phase of this trial to last a couple of days at most.
Buck initially faced two misdemeanor counts of obstructing a police officer, but one of those charges was dismissed.