Judge in Kyle Rittenhouse trial bars MSNBC from courtroom after man working for the network follows jury bus

• The judge overseeing Kyle Rittenhouse's homicide trial has banned MSNBC from a Kenosha courthouse.
• Judge Bruce Schroeder said a man claiming to be a producer had been following the bus transporting jurors.

The judge overseeing Kyle Rittenhouse's homicide trial has banned MSNBC employees from the courthouse, saying a man working with the network had tried to follow the bus transporting jurors.

Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder addressed the courtroom on Thursday saying the incident was being investigated.

"This is a very serious matter and I don't know what the ultimate truth of it is," Schroeder said. "But absolutely it would go without much thinking that someone who is following the jury bus, that's an extremely serious matter and it will be referred to the proper authorities."

Schroeder said police questioned the man, who was within a block of the bus, after he ran through a red light. The man identified himself to police as James Morrison, and said he had been instructed by a superior named Irene Byon to follow the jury bus.

Schroeder said police ticketed the man for violating a traffic control signal.

An NBC News representative told Insider in a statement that the man involved had been freelancing for the network (MSNBC is housed within NBC News). The network did not confirm whether the freelancer had been directed to follow the jury bus.

"While the traffic violation took place near the jury van, the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations, and never photographed or intended to photograph them," the statement said. "We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation."

Morrison and Byon didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Social media profiles for Byon were taken offline shortly after Schroeder addressed the court.

Schroeder noted that the bus' windows have been covered each day to prevent the jurors from seeing the various protesters and signs outside the Kenosha County courthouse.

Kenosha police also said Thursday that they had arrested a person who was trying to photograph jurors in the Rittenhouse trial, and who was "alleging to be affiliated with a national media outlet."

Police said the person did not successfully photograph any jurors. They added that they issued the person several traffic-related citations.

Jurors had previously expressed concerns for their safety and privacy during the highly publicized and politicized trial.

"Either way this goes, half the country is upset with you," one woman said during jury selection. She was later selected to serve, but it's unclear if she was one of the 12 jurors deliberating Rittenhouse's verdict or one of the six alternate jurors.

"It's just scary," the woman said. "I don't want people to have my name. I don't want to be seen on TV."