(Editor’s Note: BTPM NPR’s I’Jaz Ja’ciel is in the federal courthouse for Tuesday’s proceedings. Under courthouse rules no recording or photography is allowed within the courtroom. She will provide more details when possible.)
Jury selection began Tuesday morning in the federal hate crime trial of Payton Gendron, in connection with the Tops Market mass shooting on May 14, 2022. Ten people, all Black, died in the attack.
Gendron, who underwent his state trial for the murders, pleaded guilty in that case and is serving a life sentence with no chance for parole. However, a conviction in his federal case could result in the death penalty.
Gendron’s attack was found to have been racially motivated, and a lengthy document published online but removed shortly after the shootings confirmed racist thinking.
Jury selection is expected to take weeks.
In the months leading up to Tuesday’s beginning of jury selection, attorneys on both sides argued over what evidence should be admissible at trial.