Video: Defendant fatally shot in federal courtroom after attacking witness with pen

A federal judge released a courtroom video Monday showing the fatal shooting of a defendant who attacked a witness testifying against him during a 2014 trial in Utah, leaping over the wall into the witness stand before a U.S. marshal opened fire.

The video shows Siale Angilau, reportedly a member of the Tongan Crips gang, casually walking near a table, grabbing a pen and charging the witness, another gang member who is shackled and wearing prison stripes. The witness, identified only by the initials V.T., manages to scramble away as Angilau hurdles into the witness stand.

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The marshal, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, fires four shots toward Angilau, who has fallen to the floor out of camera view.

According to Deseret News, the video was released on Monday after media agencies fought to see it, claiming that events in open court are a matter of public record, and that the video would answer questions the family had raised in a lawsuit about possible use of excessive force.

U.S. District Judge John Dowdell dismissed the family’s lawsuit on Monday.

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