Skylar's trial began on Monday. A friend of mine was in attendance. Here's my summary of her observations:
The prosecutor started off strong with a quote from Skylar: "Then you shouldn't have effing pushed me, should you?" Bowlderization aside, it sets the tone of her argument. Skylar admits his guilt right away.
The newspaper article got some things wrong that the prosecutor corrected in her summary. Skylar was harassing an older woman, not two teenage girls; he wasn't at a hot dog vendor, but rather at a table run by the Montana Republican Party; he was repeatedly insisting that Donald Trump claimed that he was going to eliminate elections, and also that Trump was a pedophile because of his connection with Epstein.
Skylar did some real damage to the sheriff as well. He suffered an injured eye which required surgery to save, facial bruising, and a damaged knee. Furthermore, his behavior in the two video recordings of the incident was off-the-charts bad, including that initial quote.
The defense had two lines of argument: The body cam footage didn't show any punch, and Skylar is socially awkward - not autistic, or at least not that they'll admit to. (Note that the footage didn't show the lack of a punch either. Skylar crowded the sheriff and thus the punch wasn't visible on camera.) Defense also promised that we'd hear from Skylar himself. That's right - tard boy is taking the stand in his own defense. Dis gon b gud.
Two witnesses took the stand to describe what they saw of Skylar's behavior. They were credible, obviously nervous about testifying but coherent and credible. One of the witnesses saw Skylar throw the first of multiple punches.
Sheriff Leo Dutton took the stand next. He was avuncular and smooth, a practiced witness. The defense unwisely tried to get aggressive when cross-examining him, and got slapped down for their trouble. The cross-examination will continue tomorrow.
Skylar looks like a mortician whose funeral home failed. Worse, he wore the exact same shirt he wore in the video of the assault, driving home the connection between him and his actions. His resting bitch face is doing him no favors.
Skylar's mother looks like many men's first wives: Karen haircut, forbidding expression. Skylar's father did not appear.