Dozens of potential jurors for the trial of Don Blankenship reported to federal court in Charleston on Thursday morning.
The possible jurors began arriving early, as a handful of police and media milled around the entrance of the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse awaiting the arrival of the former Massey Energy CEO.
About 8:30 a.m., Blankenship emerged from a light blue minivan, which pulled up to the front of the courthouse on Virginia Street.
Blankenship was immediately escorted to the front entrance of the building as members of the media asked him several times if he was still proclaiming his innocence. He smiled and said yes.
The 65-year-old Mingo County native was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2014, charging him with four criminal counts. A superseding indictment was later filed that combined two of the counts.
While Blankenship is not specifically charged with causing the April 5, 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster, which killed 29 miners, the allegations against him focus on events at the Raleigh County mine. The indictment outlines repeated violations at the UBB mine of federal safety rules meant to prevent mine explosions, such as those mandating proper ventilation and control of highly explosive coal dust.
Blankenship faces a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison, if convicted on all counts. He is free on $5 million bail, but his travel is restricted.
In addition to Blankenship, several other key players arrived in Charleston this morning, including defense attorney Blair Brown, who was seen dragging a suitcase on wheels, and FBI Special Agent Jim Lafferty.
At around 9:50 a.m. members of the media were allowed to head to the fifth floor of the courthouse and sit in a separate courtroom where they would be allowed to watch jury selection via a video feed.
When Judge Irene Berger who is presiding over the Blankenship trial, began asking questions of individual jurors, she called them to the bench and spectators in the separate courtroom could not hear what was being said via the video feed.
On Wednesday afternoon, a lawyer for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and West Virginia Public Broadcasting filed a motion asking Berger, to ensure that the jury selection process occurs in public and to provide the news media with access to trial exhibits on a daily basis.
On Thursday morning, the Charleston Gazette-Mail sent a letter to Berger requesting her to allow one pool reporter into the courtroom of potential jurors.
It was not clear from the video feed whether potential jurors would be excused based on their answers. Berger has not publicly announced the exact procedures for the jury selection. She has not, for example, publicly ruled on Blankenship's request for 10 additional pre-emptory challenges.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazette.com, 304-348-1702 or follow @kenwardjr on Twitter.
Reach Joel Ebert at 304-348-4843, joel.ebert@dailymailwv.com, or follow @joelebert29 on Twitter.