A judge issued a gag order Tuesday at the Travis Scott concert hearing so the case can be ‘tried in the courtroom and not on social media’ as dozens of lawyers representing hundreds of victims and their families met in court for the first time.
The November 2021 tragedy at the Astroworld Festival left 10 dead and many more injured.
‘This case should be tried in the courtroom and not on social media or with press releases or other statements to the media,’ Judge Kristen Hawkins said.
Hawkins clarified her order, saying lawyers could tell the media about factual issues that happen in court, but she didn’t want attorneys to make their cases in the court of public opinion and possibly influence the jury pool.
At the hearing Tuesday, dozens of attorneys were in court to represent the ten Scott fans who were killed and thousands more who were injured.
It was the first time the lawyers, handling the nearly 500 lawsuits, had met in court after the cases were consolidated before one judge.
Most of Tuesday’s court hearing was spent discussing how the cases would proceed, the creation of a leadership structure that would speak on behalf of attorneys for each side, how disputes over evidence or other matters would be handled.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Ezra Blount, the youngest victim, pointed out that most of the victims killed or injured were black but the majority of attorneys representing them are white.
Ezra Blount, 9, was reportedly a big fan of rapper Travis Scott’s music, and was sitting on his father’s shoulders when Scott’s performance began at NRG Park on November 5.
He was the youngest of the 10 people who died in the massive crowd surge.
‘There seems to be not much representation in the court of those African American voices,’ Crump said. ‘We really grapple with it. We are concerned about them not having a voice.’
Attorneys Ben Crump, left, representing the father of victim, Ezra Blount, left, Neal Manne, representing Live Nation, right, and others are shown leaving from a status conference about Astroworld litigation before Judge Kristen Hawkins Tuesday
Judge Kristen Hawkins issued a gag order Tuesday at the Travis Scott concert hearing so the case can be ‘tried in the courtroom and not on social media’ as dozens of lawyers representing hundreds of victims and their families met in court for the first time.
Ezra Blount, 9, of Dallas, Texas, became the latest fatality in a deadly crowd surge during a Travis Scott performance at the Astroworld music festival in Houston on Sunday – 10 days after he was put in a medically-induced coma
In recent years, Crump has represented victims of police brutality and vigilante violence and has been the lawyer for the families of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
Hawkins told Crump this issue is something ‘that has not gone unnoticed by the court … I would like that to be considered going forward.’
But Hawkins said she was ‘not going to choose someone’s counsel for them. I do know we have excellent attorneys in this room and those attorneys come from all aspects of Harris County.’
Neal Manne, who represents Astroworld festival promoter Live Nation, thanked Crump for highlighting this issue, saying, ‘I agree with him.’
Brent Coon, an attorney who is representing about 1,500 concertgoers and is asking for $10 billion in damages, said after the hearing he understands the judge’s goal of ‘let’s keep who’s pointing the finger at who, let that be courtroom issues and jury issues ultimately.’
‘But this is a case of public import for all the reasons that are obvious,’ Coon said.
Hawkins said she planned to have monthly hearings.
She requested that by the next hearing, lawyers give her a breakdown of the various lawsuits by four categories: deaths, bodily injuries, brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder.
Coon said it could be years before any trials or settlements in the case take place.
At least two Houston Police Department cops were spotted holding their phones up and filming at Travis Scott’s deadly Astroworld gig 30 minutes after it was declared a mass-casualty event
The U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee in December announced it was investigating Live Nation’s role in the deadly concert.
Last month, Houston officials announced the creation of a new task force that will look at improving the safety at large Houston-area events.
Those who died in the concert ranged in age from 9 to 27 years old. Roughly 300 people were injured and treated at the scene, and 25 were taken to hospitals. Those killed died from compression asphyxia.
Ezra was reportedly a big fan of rapper Travis Scott’s music, and was sitting on his father’s shoulders when the countdown to Scott’s performance began at NRG Park on November 5.
The pair stayed near the back of the crowd because his father, Treston Blount, thought it would be calmer, he previously told ABC 13.
But as soon as Scott took the stage, Treston said, people started pushing.
He lost consciousness and Ezra fell to the ground, and was soon trampled on by eager concert-goers.
When Treston regained consciousness, he said, he could not find Ezra anywhere, and rushed to the on-site medic tents and several hospitals.
Eventually, he said, he filed a police report, and received a message from an officer with a picture of his boy.
When he got to the hospital, he discovered his son incurred severe damage to his brain, kidney, and liver after being ‘kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death,’ according to a lawsuit his family has filed against Scott and the event´s organizer, Live Nation.
The Blount family is seeking at least $1 million in damages.
In a statement, the family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, said that he was ‘committed to seeking answers and justice’ on behalf of the family.
‘The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son,’ Crump said. ‘This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. Ezra’s death is absolutely heartbreaking.’
An ambulance is seen in the crowd during the Astroworld music festival as Scott’s performance reportedly continued
Scott has been widely criticized for continuing to play on for 38 minutes after Houston PD declared a mass casualty incident
Video and photos obtained by TMZ shows members of the Houston Police Department calmly walking around and even pulling out their cellphones to record Scott’s performance after the Fire Chief declared a ‘mass casualty event’ at 9:38 pm.
A set of photos with the time stamps 9:57 pm shows police officers recording the rappers performance, 19 minutes after the chief’s declaration, TMZ reported.
TMZ also obtained video of officers casually strolling past the stage shot at 10:02 pm, 25 minutes after the mass casualty declaration.
When asked about how the concert came to an end, and why Scott was able to complete his set, the chief said investigators are still looking into the specifics during a press conference Wednesday.
‘I don’t know, and that’s part of the investigation,’ he told reporters, adding ‘We’ve been looking and the timelines have moved and that’s why we shouldn’t jump ahead of things, let’s just wait. that’s part of the investigation.’
Finner, who said he did not have a close relationship with Scott and had only met him twice, said whether or not the show went on was not up to the police department.
‘Authorities ability to end the show – we don’t hold the plug, okay? But it’s always in a plan, there’s always discussion of how that would happen and we had those discussions with the promoters,’ Finner said.
‘The ultimate authority to end the show is with production and the entertainer,’ he added.
A Houston police officer pictured helping the crowd at last Friday’s deadly Astroworld concert
Scott has been widely criticized for continuing to play on for 38 minutes after Houston PD declared a mass casualty incident and for attending a party with fellow rapper Drake in the hours after the tragedy.
But Scott’s lawyer Ed McPherson told DailyMail.com that the rapper did pause the show when he spotted fans in trouble and was wearing an earpiece during the gig which limited what he could hear.
McPherson also revealed Scott was not allowed to stop the show himself due to a security protocol that put the decision in the hands of the producers. He said that when told to stop, he did.
McPherson said: ‘There’s very little that you can see [from the stage]. You’re up there to perform. Your job is to entertain the crowd and get the crowd going.
‘You can’t see these things [crowd trouble]. You certainly can’t hear anything. This was in the middle of the night and that compounds things on stage. All you see is black in front of you.’
Scott released a statement in the aftermath of the tragedy in which he said he was ‘absolutely devastated’ by the loss of life.
The Houston native went on: ‘My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at the Astroworld Festival.
‘Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life.
‘I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.’
