SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — A Sioux Falls man was convicted of stalking Mayor Paul TenHaken by a Minnehaha County jury Wednesday afternoon.
It took three hours of deliberation for the 12-person panel who spent a day and a half listening to witness testimony. A guilty verdict was issued in the case that centered around a series of emails and social media posts made by Christopher Bruce.
During the deliberation, Second Circuit Court Judge Jon Sogn received just one note of question from the jury, which inquired as to whether Bruce had their names and personal information. Sogn ordered that Bruce and the State’s Attorney’s Office return any documents related to that information that might have been used during jury selection.
Bruce, 58, declined to comment in the moments after learning of his stalking conviction.
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — The man accused of stalking the mayor of Sioux Falls says his arrest last June was retaliation for a federal lawsuit he filed days earlier.
Christopher Bruce told jurors the series of emails sent to Mayor Paul TenHaken between November 2018 and June 2019 were not threats of violence and instead were attempts to bring concerns about the safety of fifth-generation internet technology to his attention.
Bruce is representing himself in the case with advisory legal assistance from the Minnehaha County Public Defenders Office.
The State’s Attorney’s Office said Bruce was so frustrated that his concerns were not being shared with city leaders that those emails evolved into threats of violence.
Jurors are expected to go into deliberation on the case today (Wednesday).
