Feds Close The Brooklyn Bridge Every Time El Chapo Goes To Court

DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Here's yet another cause of New York City gridlock: Every time the notorious drug lord "El Chapo" appears in court, half of the Brooklyn Bridge is shut down to allow the massive police motorcade that transports him to get to Brooklyn.

Lawyers for Joaquin Guzmán, who is better known as El Chapo, asked a judge to move the venue for his upcoming criminal trial so that his motorcade doesn't shut down the Brooklyn Bridge every time he travels from his Manhattan jail cell to federal court in Brooklyn.

Guzmán's attorneys say that the display — what they call a "public, bridge-closing, riot-gear-wearing, phalanx of cars and officers" — could be prejudicial for the New Yorkers and potential jurors who witness it.

Since Guzmán was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. last year, he's been behind bars in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. Guzmán's trial, however, in which he faces charges for a widespread and violent drug distribution conspiracy, is being held in Brooklyn, making for a massive motorcade every time the drug lord has to appear in court. Guzmán has appeared in court seven times so far, meaning he has shut down half of the Brooklyn Bridge at least 14 times in his trips to and from the courthouse, according to his attorneys. The frequency of Guzmán's court appearances will only increase when his trial begins in September.

Guzmán's attorney A. Eduardo Balarezo said in court papers on Sunday that the federal government transports their prisoner using a multi-vehicle motorcade that includes marked police cars, SUVs and an ambulance accompanied by "scores of United States Marshals and other law enforcement officers."

"In this case, the unprecedented, highly visible, and disruptive security measures taken by the government every time it transports Mr. Guzmán, are likely to be seen or heard about by innumerable potential and seated jurors and run the precise risk the Supreme Court warned against: that Mr. Guzmán, while presumed innocent, is already considered by authorities to be an extreme danger to the community," Balarezo wrote.

Instead, El Chapo's lawyers are asking that he be tried in the federal court in Manhattan, which is connected to the correctional center where he is currently housed, or in Pennsylvania.

Federal prosecutors have until May 15 to respond to Guzmán's request.

Image credit: Charles Reed/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images