Allegations of witness tampering in the federal Feeding Our Future trial rocked the courtroom Tuesday, leading to new security measures and a new investigation into the role one of the defendants may have played in the incident.

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered defendants in all upcoming cases stemming from a major COVID-19 pandemic fraud case in Minnesota to stay away from her courtroom after allegations of witness tampering surfaced in the trial of the alleged ringleader.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thompson told the judge that he received information that a cooperating witness was approached in the hallway.