Elaine Porter: "Did you hear him refer to a person named Maya Reynolds?"
Natalie Brooks: "Not during the initial confrontation. I heard the name after the bailiff arrived and the situation began to be secured."
Elaine Porter: "Did Officer Reed attempt to verify your identity before using force?"
Natalie Brooks: "Not to my knowledge."
Elaine Porter: "Is there anything else you believe investigators should examine?"
Natalie considered the question.
Natalie Brooks: "The message he claims to have received, the source of that message, the reason he believed he had authority to stop someone from leaving, and whether any official system contained information that contradicted his assumptions."
Elaine nodded.
Elaine Porter: "We will examine those issues."
Samuel then provided his own statement.
He described hearing raised voices from the eastern hallway, turning the corner, and seeing Natalie on the floor. He recalled Marcus standing over her and ordering her to get up. He had immediately recognized Natalie and called out to him to step away.
He was careful not to claim that he had witnessed the beginning of the assault.
Samuel Carter: "I did not see the first contact between them. I will not say that I did. But when I arrived, Judge Brooks was on the floor, her papers were scattered, and Officer Reed was standing close to her."
Elaine Porter: "What did you observe about Judge Brooks's condition?"
Samuel Carter: "She appeared shaken and was holding her lower lip. I could see blood. She was trying to gather herself and get back to her feet."
Elaine Porter: "What did Officer Reed say when you identified her?"
Samuel Carter: "He said there had been a misunderstanding and that he had not known who she was."
Elaine Porter: "Did he provide an explanation for using force?"
Samuel Carter: "Not while I was there. He spoke about receiving information, but I did not hear him explain the basis for his actions."
Elaine thanked him and ended the interview.
Before leaving, Samuel turned to Natalie.
Samuel Carter: "If there is anything else you need, please tell me."
Natalie Brooks: "Continue doing your job exactly as you did today. Tell the truth about what you saw, and be equally clear about what you did not see."
Samuel Carter: "I will."
By late afternoon, the first set of security recordings had been secured.
Investigators began with the footage from the eastern hallway, where Marcus had entered the building's corridor. The recording showed him arriving alone and looking at his phone before walking toward the courtroom doors.
He did not appear to speak with any courthouse employee.
The next camera showed the confrontation from a wider angle.
Although the camera had no audio, the movements were clear enough to establish the general sequence. Marcus approached Natalie and blocked her path. She stopped and appeared to speak to him. He moved closer. She remained in place, holding her folder.
Then he reached for her sleeve.
The folder dropped.
Papers scattered across the marble floor.
Marcus moved toward her again, and Natalie stumbled backward. She fell. He continued moving around her while she tried to rise.
The recording showed a sharp movement of his leg toward her lower body. The angle did not make every detail of the contact immediately clear, but it contradicted the impression that he had simply stepped aside to avoid her.
Several seconds passed before another person entered the frame.
That person was Samuel Carter.
He hurried toward Natalie, placed himself between her and Marcus, and gestured for Marcus to step away.
The recording showed that Marcus did not immediately comply.
Investigators watched the footage more than once.
They marked the time of each movement, compared the sequence with the witnesses' accounts, and requested footage from an additional camera that covered the corridor intersection.
The evidence was not being evaluated in isolation.
The woman's recording, the courthouse cameras, the witness statements, and Marcus's account would need to be considered together. Each source had limits, but their combined details could help establish a more complete timeline.
When the audio from the woman's phone recording was reviewed, investigators heard the words that had been absent from the silent security footage.
Marcus could be heard shouting at Natalie to move.
Natalie's voice was calm at first, asking why he was stopping her.
Marcus then ordered her away from the courtroom.
The recording captured the sound of papers hitting the floor, followed by a startled reaction from someone nearby.
It also captured a witness telling Marcus to stop.
The footage did not show Natalie attacking him.
It did not reveal a weapon.
It did not contain a clear threat from her.