Judge declares mistrial in Texas 'antifa' protest case over attorney's T-shirt

[groundloop]

Source: The Guardian

A federal judge in Texas declared a mistrial on Tuesday after a defense lawyer wore a shirt in court with images from the civil rights movement, delaying a closely watched case in which the Trump administration is accusing a group of protesters of being terrorists and says they are part of a “North-Texas antifa cell”.

US district judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of Donald Trump, declared a mistrial only hours after jury selection began at the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Worth. He abruptly halted the proceedings after MarQuetta Clayton, an attorney for one of the defendants, had been questioning potential jurors for about 20 minutes, taking issue with a shirt she was wearing underneath a black blazer. The shirt contained images of civil rights movement leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr and Shirley Chisholm, as well as images of protests from that time.

Clayton was present in the courtroom all day with her shirt visible to Pittman, but the judge did not stop the proceedings until Clayton began questioning the approximately 75 potential jurors who had assembled.

Pittman claimed the shirt sent a political message that could bias jurors and equate the actions of the defendants in the case with that of the civil rights movement, adding that the decision to wear the shirt may have been intentional. Pittman also argued that the defense lawyers would be outraged if prosecutors were to wear shirts that showed pro-ICE or pro-Trump imagery in front of a jury.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/17/judge-texas-mistrial-antifa-ice

[summer_in_TX]

1. Subliminal message?

Could be, I suppose. It also might cause those who agree to feel favor to the lawyer which could rub off on her client, or disfavor. Then when questioning jurors their subtle reactions might give information about which jurors to seat or to try to strike.

Seems possible at least.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. I do think it's kind of bad form

for an attorney on either side to wear anything that could be construed as a political message. Not necessarily illegal, just bad form. But that's me.

[jls4561]

3. The judge should require the prosecutor to wear a shirt featuring unicorns battling bug-eyed aliens.

Since he’s arguing that the defendants are terrorists from an Antifa cell.

[maxsolomon]

4. Was she trying for a mistrial?

That's a good way to go about it. Dress like a professional.

[malthaussen]

5. Seems reasonable.

A trial lawyer doesn't dress by accident. The shirt can be construed as evoking sympathy for the defendants by associating them with historical heroes.

-- Mal