DeSantis: ‘Florida will provide asylum’ to holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy case

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday accused the media of launching a smear campaign against the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, after a report revealed that the juror had a history of alleged domestic violence and an active restraining order.

“A man objected to allowing a woman to kill her three young kids and get away with it, so NBC is trying to smear that juror, whose identity should be protected,” DeSantis wrote on social media in response to the report from NBC10 Boston . “Another low for legacy media.”

DeSantis went further as to offer the unidentified juror “asylum” in Florida should he face harassment over the bombshell revelations.

“If the juror is being harassed, Florida will provide asylum — I’m sure he’d be welcomed and appreciated,” DeSantis wrote.

NBC10 Boston reported Friday that the juror was charged in 2021 for allegedly assaulting his then-wife after his 13-year-old nephew told police he saw the man grab her by the throat and throw her into the dresser. The charge was later dismissed, and the couple divorced.

That same nephew obtained a restraining order against the juror last year after accusing him of pushing him onto the ground and assaulting him. The order was still active when the juror was selected for Clancy’s trial.

The findings raised questions about how the man was selected for the jury. Massachusetts’ standard juror questionnaire asks prospective jurors whether they have been arrested, charged with a crime or served with a court order.

NBC10 reported that each question would have applied to the juror, though his questionnaire is not public and it is unknown how he answered.

The outlet also reported that the juror was facing eviction after failing to pay rent since March. His landlord secured a judgement of more than $12,000 in unpaid rent while the jury was deliberating, according to the report.

The juror was the sole holdout after the panel split 11-1 on whether to find Clancy not guilty due to mental disease or defect. Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial last week after seven days of deliberations.

Clancy was charged with killing her three children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3 and Callan, 8 months — at the family’s Duxbury, Mass., home in 2023. Her attorneys argued she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible at the time of the murders.