MILWAUKEE — In his first jailhouse interview since being taken into custody, Darrell Brooks Jr. said he believes he is being "demonized" and treated like a "monster" after police say he mowed down at least 60 people, killing six, during the Waukesha Christmas parade last month.
Brooks spoke to Fox News briefly Wednesday. The media outlet refers to Brooks as "soft-spoken." Brooks did not provide any more details about a motive.
"I just feel like I'm being monster — demonized," Brooks told Fox News, adding that he feels he's been "dehumanized."
"Brooks appeared calm, lucid and took time to answer each question — even repeating reporters' questions and answers at times," wrote Michael Ruiz and Stephanie Pagones.
The two Fox News reporters were the first visitors Brooks received. He has not received a visit from family members. Brooks' mother Dawn Woods released a statement earlier Wednesday to numerous media outlets criticizing the criminal justice system for failing Brooks.
“Mental illness is real and the system is broken it can and must be fixed NOW, not next year or with a new legislation NOW. So many like Darrell that have fallen through the cracks because of a broken system that no one cared to address, can get the help they so desperately need,” Woods wrote in the letter, first obtained by WDJT-TV.
Brooks said he was "very" close with his mother. He hasn't spoken to any family since the parade attack but they talked earlier that day, he said.
Following the interview, reporters describe the sound of sobbing through the speakers.
Prosecutors have charged Brooks with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide. He is being held on $5 million cash bail and faces up to life in prison if convicted on any of the counts.
He’s also a defendant in another Milwaukee County case from 2020 in which he’s charged with shooting at his nephew and another person.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Follow Drake Bentley on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS
