A man who drove his car into a Christmas parade crowd killing six people and leaving dozens wounded has been found guilty.
Darrell Brooks, 40, was convicted of six counts of intentional homicide by a 12-person jury in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, US, on Wednesday and now faces life in prison when he is sentenced.
The defendant had pleaded not guilty to six counts of intentional homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon along with 60 other counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
On numerous occasions during the three-week trial, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow reprimanded Mr Brooks, who defended himself, for failing to follow court rules.
He spoke over prosecutors and the judge throughout the trial and continued to challenge the court's jurisdiction as he insisted “Darrell Brooks” was not his name.
Following the decision to represent himself, Mr Brooks persistent behaviour drew criticism from Judge Jennifer Dorow who had to remove him from the court multiple times.
The Judge told the court: "He continues to not respect the fact that a ruling has been made, and he wants to argue and reargue and reargue points that this court has already gone over."
She removed him from the prosecution's closing arguments after his constant interruptions and labelled him “stubbornly defiant.”
He was sent to a nearby courtroom where he was able to speak via a microphone, which had to be muted most the time, along with a monitor as the case continued.
Mr Brooks was accused of deliberately driving his sport utility vehicle through police barricades and into the crowds participating in the annual parade in the city of Waukesha, about 15 miles (25 km) west of downtown Milwaukee on November 21.
During his closing argument on Monday, Mr Brooks told the jury that he had no intention of hurting anyone.
He said he sounded the vehicle's horn as he drove through the crowd, attempting to warn people to get out of the way.
"When you ride through a parade route and roll over children ... your intent is known, Mr. Brooks," Waukesha County District
Attorney Sue Opper said during closing arguments. "That's not an accident."
“His intent I do have to prove, and I submit without any doubt there’s overwhelming evidence that this was an intentional act by Darrell Brooks and an act of utter disregard for human life.”
The ages of the people killed ranged from eight to 81 years old, and more than 60 other people were injured, including at least 18 children.
Mr Brooks, a Milwaukee resident, was out on bail from a domestic abuse charge at the time of the attack.
He was arrested near the scene and has been in custody ever since.
