Ghislaine Maxwell demands in-person court hearing after QAnon 'debacle'
According to a report from Newsweek, Ghislaine Maxwell -- the woman closely tied to the late Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of underaged women -- is demanding her next court hearing be held in-person after followers of the QAnon followers broadcast a January court appearance that was conducted using video.
The report states that lawyers for the woman facing charges of sex trafficking of a minor and grooming the 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual acts with Epstein, are calling the January hearing a "debacle" after the proceedings were illegally broadcast.
According to the report, her attorneys wrote in a court filing, "As counsel has notified the government, Ms. Maxwell is requesting an in-person arraignment. She will not waive that right, most especially in light of media coverage and the debacle that occurred during a remote proceeding in a related civil case before Judge Preska."
"The January livestream attracted 14,000 listeners and The Guardian reported QAnon supporters were posting messages in an accompanying live chat," Newsweek is reporting, which led to a court clerk telling Manhattan Judge Loretta Pleska, "Judge, I need to interrupt. I was just informed that apparently somebody is broadcasting this on to YouTube, so I don't know if you want to give a reminder that that is illegal to do," after which the judge ordered whoever was doing it to stop.
Ghislaine is expected to enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty in relation to the latest charges filed against her later this month.