Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has inserted himself into the growing controversy surrounding the lone holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial, offering the unidentified man what he called “asylum” in Florida if he is being harassed.
The Republican governor made the offer after NBC10 Boston published a report examining domestic-violence allegations and other information from the juror’s personal history following the mistrial.
“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.
“Another low for legacy media,” he added.
DeSantis then extended his unusual invitation directly to the holdout.
“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 court records and interviews with relatives revealed allegations of domestic violence involving the juror as well as a restraining order that was reportedly active during jury selection.
The station framed its reporting around questions about whether information in the juror’s background should have been disclosed during the jury-selection process.
The allegations reported by NBC are separate from the evidence the juror heard during Clancy’s trial and do not establish that he acted improperly while serving on the panel.
The juror became the focus of intense national attention after Clancy’s six-week trial ended with an 11-1 deadlock over whether she should be found not criminally responsible for killing her three children.
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Clancy admitted strangling 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan inside the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023.
Her attorneys argued that severe mental illness, including what they described as postpartum psychosis, left her without criminal responsibility for the killings.
Prosecutors maintained that Clancy understood her actions and deliberately killed the children.
Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial September 4 after approximately 38 hours of deliberations failed to produce a unanimous decision.
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Defense attorney Kevin Reddington said afterward that 11 jurors were prepared to find Clancy not criminally responsible while a single male juror refused to join them.
Reddington publicly attacked the holdout after the mistrial, accusing him of having an “agenda” and saying Clancy and the other jurors had been “robbed” by him.
“I hope that guy can sleep well at night,” Reddington said outside the courthouse.
The juror’s identity has remained officially protected, with Sullivan ordering the jury list impounded for at least 14 days following the mistrial.
Other jurors have since given media interviews criticizing the holdout’s behavior during deliberations and disputing his interpretation of the evidence.
Three jurors told NBC10 Boston that the holdout acknowledged having reasonable doubt but still would not agree to find Clancy not criminally responsible, an account that reflects those jurors’ description of private deliberations rather than a judicial finding of misconduct.
Sullivan had already refused efforts by Clancy’s defense to remove the holdout before the mistrial, finding insufficient grounds to conclude that the juror had violated his obligations.
The controversy escalated significantly when reporting shifted from what occurred inside the jury room to details about the unidentified juror’s personal life.
DeSantis characterized NBC’s report as an effort to punish a juror for refusing to acquit Clancy, while NBC said its investigation raised legitimate questions about information disclosed during jury selection.
The governor nevertheless made clear that he believes the holdout should be defended rather than publicly targeted for reaching a conclusion different from the other 11 jurors.