Herson Cabreras, also known as Juror Number 4, was surprised when he was dismissed from jury service in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York. He felt as though he was caught in a competition between the judge, prosecution, and defense, and believed that everyone wanted to appear fair in front of the public, but did not act fairly. Cabreras, an IT professional and political consultant, was taken aback by his dismissal but ultimately accepted it and moved on. The trial involves Trump being charged with falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels to influence the 2016 election.
The reason for Cabreras’ dismissal stemmed from a 1991 incident where he and an associate were accused of tearing down political campaign signs in Harrison, New York. Most of the signs belonged to Republicans, but Cabreras claimed he hardly remembered the incident from 33 years ago. Prosecutors brought up this incident during his jury service, prompting his dismissal. Cabreras believed it was an excuse to get him off the jury and expressed frustration at the judge’s handling of the situation. He felt that Merchan should have intervened and stopped prosecutors from using the incident against him.
Cabreras made headlines with his comment about Trump being “fascinating and mysterious” during voir dire. He clarified that he meant Trump stirs up controversy wherever he goes, but when he appeared in court, he barely noticed the former president. Despite feeling he could have remained impartial, Cabreras ultimately acknowledged that being dismissed from the jury may have been a favor to him, as his family was not happy with the situation. He expressed concerns about the treatment of other potential jurors and criticized Judge Merchan as a “cowardly judge” for allowing prosecutors to use details from decades ago against him.
The whole episode left a bad taste in Cabreras’ mouth and raised questions about Merchan’s handling of the courtroom. He worried about other jurors potentially being treated the same way and expressed sympathy for them. Cabreras felt sorry for the other jurors who may be dragged into a fiercely contested legal battle and questioned the fairness of the process. Despite his dismissal, Cabreras accepted the situation and expressed gratitude that he no longer had to be part of the trial. Overall, the experience was unexpected and challenging for Cabreras, but he ultimately viewed it as a favor and chose to move forward from the ordeal.
