Trial in recess over a “security issue”

UPDATE: July 23rd, 11:09 PM: The jury has reached the following verdict in the trial of Shiloh Hendrix:

• Not Guilty for disorderly conduct including a child.
• Guilty for disorderly conduct against the man operating the camera.

Hendrix will also receive supervised probation, will serve 200 hours of community work service, and is also ordered to pay a $1000 fine.

UPDATE: July 23rd, 10:17 PM: A verdict has reportedly been reached. KTTC will update when the jury’s verdict is known.

UPDATE: July 23rd, 7:28 PM: The jury’s question reportedly had to do with the definition of the word “boisterous”, however, the court would not give them one and referred them to the jury instructions.

The judge said she would allow the jury to deliberate for as long as they wanted to Thursday night.

UPDATE: July 23rd, 6:33 PM: Court is reportedly going into session, as there is a question from the jury.

UPDATE: July 23rd, 1 p.m.: The jury is now deliberating in the trial of Shiloh Hendrix who is accused of two counts of disorderly conduct tied to a calling a Black child a racial slur at a Rochester park in April 2025.

Earlier in the morning, the court called a quick recess and prosecutors asked to speak with the judge privately regarding a “security issue”. When back in session a few minutes later, the court never addressed the “security issue”.

During day three of the trial, Hendrix decided not to testify.

The defense called one witness to the stand, Rochester Police Department Sargeant Ben Schlag, who initially interview the child’s father, Shire Jimale, on May 8, 2025.

Schlag explained his job was to conduct an initial interview with Jimale to gather details about the incident at the Rochester park and to determine Jimale’s son was the correct victim.

Schlag noted during his 40-minute interview with Jimale he was not emotional and did not have trouble answering questions with an interpreter. Hendrix’s defense attorney noted several times he believed Jimale was being “evasive” of answering his questions.

Schlag testified during Jimale’s first interview that he never said he feared Hendrix was going to “strike” his son. Jimale did mention that concern during his second interview the next day.

After the RPD detective finished testifying, the defense wanted to call an additional witness to testify about “the internet” with a goal of proving Jimale was aware of a Go Fund Me page in his name. Jimale previously testified he was not aware of a Go Fund Me page in his name or the page by the Rochester branch of the NAACP until after he interviewed with police. Jimale testified he told the NAACP to put the money in a trust for his son.

Judge Christa Daily said she would not allow Karalus to submit evidence of the Go Fund Me page or let the witness testify about “the internet” because it could not be proven to be true or correct. From there, tensions between Karalus and Daily rose as the attorney expressed his frustration with the court.

Daily warned Karalus if he continued, he would be held in contempt of the court. If an attorney is found in contempt of the court, a judge can order the attorney to pay a monetary penalty to the court, and in severe cases, a judge can send the attorney to a local jail for a brief period. A judge could also declare a mistrial or pause the case.

After the argument over evidence, the defense rested its case.

The state’s final argument presented by Nicholas Schabel lasted 15 minutes. Schabel telling the jury the evidence tells a straight forward story. He argued Hendrix knew her conduct and words could evoke an assault, was offensive, and would disturb the peace.

The defense’s closing argument presented by Karalus lasted roughly 50 minutes. Karalus opened his argument by reminding the jury the case is a very serious issue because it involves freedom of speech.

Karalus went on to add “cancel culture” has destroyed people’s lives and asking the jury to separate Hendrix’s conduct from her speech.

The state claims the Black child took an apple sauce packet out of Hendrix’s bag. Karalus told the jury the state is pushing that narrative to make Hendrix’s reaction seem unreasonable. Karalus explained there was no evidence presented that Hendrix knew it was an apple sauce packet taken. Karalus told the jury the state is “embellishing” the evidence and Hendrix was a “victim of a theft”.

Karalus then touched on the video recording of the incident that went viral on social media. Karalus said in the video you can hear Hendrix was “baited” and “goated” into continuing to use a racial slur. He went on to state that Hendrix’s conduct was not “even close to being a crime”.

Karalus then went on in length about freedom of speech in America and how important it is to protect speech, no matter how offensive. Karalus even told the jury it was the “last line of defense” to protect free speech.

The jury started deliberations at 1 p.m. on Thursday. Two jurors were dismissed because they were alternates. Six jurors are responsible for coming to a verdict.

UPDATE: July 23rd, 11:00 a.m.: The trial is currently in recess for a “security issue.”

The judge reportedly warned the defense attorney is in contempt of court.

The defense has rested its case and Hendrix did not testify.

More information to come.

UPDATE: July 22nd, 4:30 p.m.: The father of the child finished his testimony shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Prosecutors mostly focused on what the father, Shire Jimale, experienced at the Rochester park on April 28, 2025. Prosecutors highlighted that Jimale feared Hendrix would “strike” his child because she was “angry” after the child took a snack out of her diaper bag.

Hendrix’s defense attorney, Brian Karalus, took a different approach. During cross examination of Jimale, the defense zeroed in on the money raised by the NAACP. Shortly after the April 2025 incident, the NAACP raised more than $340,000 for the impacted child.

Karalus accused Jimale of only going to the police after he learned about the money. Jimale testified that he did not learn about the money until after he was interviewed by police and confirmed to be the father of the impacted child. Jimale testified the NAACP approached him about the money, and he then instructed the organization to put it into a trust for his son.

It is important to note that Hendrix raised more than $800,000 through a fund-raising platform after the April 2025 incident.

The defense also raised concerns that Jimale’s testimony was inconsistent and “fabricated”. Karalus highlighting Jimale’s testimony may be different than what he told police. Karalus claims Jimale never told police he feared Hendrix was going to “strike” his child. The state later called an RPD detective who confirmed Jimale did tell police he feared Hendrix would “strike” his child.

The state rested its case at around 4 p.m. Wednesday. The defense intends to present its arguments Thursday.

After the jury was dismissed, concerns were raised that jurors have talked to people outside of the court about the case. Very little details were offered, but the court mentioned a post on Facebook by someone claiming to know a juror and that a verdict was already predetermined.

The judge said the court was made aware of the Facebook post Tuesday night and asked the Rochester Police Department to investigate. According to the judge, RPD confirmed the person who made the post does not live in Minnesota but did live in the Rochester area at one point. Police were not able to make a connection between the person responsible for the post and the panel of jurors. It is expected that the jurors will be questioned about the concern raised Thursday.