Former juvenile court judge Tracie Hunter had to be dragged from the courtroom Monday, July 22 after being ordered by another judge to immediately begin serving her prison sentence stemming from her 2014 conviction for unlawful interest in a public contract.
That conviction came after former judge Hunter mishandled a confidential document in order to help her brother keep his job.
Hunter was charged with a number of federal indictments, including back-dating documents so cases could not be appealed due to statute of limitations.
Hunter had been roaming free out of prison on bond pending her appeal — even after losing her criminal trial.
However, on Monday, Judge Patrick Dinkelacker enforced the sentence against the former judge, which lead to chaos in the court room and Hunter’s limp body having to be dragged out by deputies.
“The city is going to burn!” one person shouted.
Before sentencing Hunter, Judge Dinkelacker held up postcards he received at his home from supporters of Hunter, urging him to exonerate her.
Some lashed out at Judge Dinkelacker for an incident in which he struck a pedestrian in his car in 2013.
The woman died after she was hit by another vehicle in that incident.
But Judge Dinkelacker was never charged with any crime, according to the Washington Post.
“If the intent was to intimidate me, in any way, that has flat-out failed,” he said to the court while holding up a letter.
“No justice! No peace!” one person yells as Hamilton County deputies forcefully dragged Hunter from the courtroom.
“Everything happened too fast. My guess was she was overcome with shock,” David Singleton told the Washington Post.
“She got on the wrong side of the political establishment in Hamilton County. They went at her with everything they had,” Singleton said.
“You don’t lock someone up for a nepotism charge. The judge did not have to impose that particular sentence.” he added.
At least one person was taken to custody during the outburst.
Before announcing her sentence, Judge Dinkelacker stated he received a total of 45 threatening letters related to the case.
The NAACP accused the deputies of politicizing Hunter’s arrest.
“The brutal force by which she was removed, and drug out of the courtroom, despite the fact that she did not resist, was further evidence of the egregiousness and vindictiveness of this entire case,” the NAACP Cincinnati chapter wrote in a statement.
Watch video of Hunter being dragged from the courtroom above.
