Wasn't the theory they decided against convicting OJ was due to the threat of another riot?
I doubt anyone knows for sure what every person on the OJ jury was thinking.
Here's one media report:
>>>In an excerpt aired on public radio show “Fresh Air” this week, juror Carrie Bess, who is now in her 70s, is asked whether “there are members of the jury that voted to acquit OJ because of Rodney King.” “Yes,” she says simply. Later she says that she was one of them.<<<
Juror Carrie Bess tells "OJ: Made in America" that she was among "90 percent" of jurors seeking payback
www.thewrap.com
Here's what Van Jones said the other day on CNN:
>>>JONES: Well, Trump is master in this one. I mean, it's not hurting him at all. With the people he's most concerned about right now. And the general election is a long time from now. Look, you remember O.J. Simpson? This, you know, the guy was notoriously horrible stuff. Black community rallied around and why? Because not because we agreed with him but because we thought the people coming after him were terrible. We thought the LAPD was terrible.
And so, if you're trying to understand what's happening with the Trump base right now, and you're African American. Just remember back with O.J., like sometimes he's not that -- he's not your guy, you think, you know, your guy is wrong, you just think the system is even more wrong.<<<
https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/ctmo/date/2023-07-28/segment/05
Jones was discussing the Trump base in the context of the primaries, but it seems to me there could be a similar dynamic with regards to potential jurors if Trump can convince at least one that "it's us against them."
On the other hand, the OJ and Trump situations are clearly different. I suspect numerous jurors in the OJ case knew people who'd experienced mistreatment at the hands of the LAPD, and the trial was shortly after the Rodney King beating. In contrast, I highly doubt that any potential Trump jurors have any personal experience with overzealous federal prosecutors, and I'm not aware of any events involving the DOJ that are similar to the Rodney King beating. Trump's never-ending statements to the effect that "they" are out to get you so "they" are going after me is just a fairy tale.
