Police were seen rushing into the courthouse where jurors are currently deliberating the verdict for the trial of dueling defamation lawsuits involving celebrities and ex-spouses, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp.
Little information is available about the activity seen outside the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, but according to Law & Crime Network, it is not related to the Heard/Depp trial. It’s a big courthouse where multiple hearings may be taking place. However, several motorcycle officers were seen rushing into the front of the same courthouse, jumping off their bikes, and running inside.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for defamation for domestic abuse claims she made against him that he says are false and hurt his career. Heard is counter-suing her ex-husband, also for defamation, for $100 million.
Depp’s lawsuit centers around an op-ed Heard wrote in 2018 for the Washington Post in which she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Depp wasn’t named in the piece, but he claims the article references a past — and allegedly false — domestic abuse allegation she made against him via filing a restraining order against him.
While Heard maintains she was abused by Depp, Depp claims just the opposite: he was abused by her and not the other way around.
Closing arguments wrapped up Friday, with jurors deliberating on a verdict commencing shortly thereafter.
Update May 27 2:55 p.m. CT: According to an update by Law & Crime Network correspondent Angenette Levy, the incident with the police may have had to do with an emergency involving someone with mental illness problems but is not thought to be related to the Depp/Heard trial.
Levy said in a post on Twitter that the deputies’ arrival was the result of a “panic alarm” that was tripped due to something involving the mentally ill individual.
This is a developing story.
