Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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At Hearing, Israel Keyes Vaults Railing, is Tasered (With Audio)
Keyes made it to the second row of seats before being subdued
By Bill McAllister
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Click the video at left to hear audio from the Keyes incident

ANCHORAGE - At a federal court hearing for Israel Keyes, the man charged in the kidnapping and death of barista Samantha Koenig, Keyes leaped over the railing and into the gallery before being subdued by court personnel and others.

Around 2 p.m. Wednesday, Keyes' attorney was explaining the defense's position on the timing of the trial when Keyes jumped the rail. Keyes vaulted to the second row of the gallery, heading in the direction of the courtroom door when about five or six people wrestled him to the ground. He was then tasered and handcuffed and the room was cleared: "Kill him!" said one woman wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with Samanatha Koenig's picture.

While Keyes was restrained when he first entered the courtroom, his handcuffs were removed before the hearing began and a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service said the defendant also broke through his leg irons sometime before or during the struggle.