Michael Jackson got a friendly boost before what could be another rough week in court as fans staged a candlelight vigil early Monday morning.
About 100 supporters gathered in front of the Santa Maria courthouse, sporting gold armbands similar to ones Jackson wears.
“Michael’s in a fight for his life,” said Vernay Lewis, a teaching assistant from Wilmington, Del. “We’ve got to be here.”
Prosecutors have said they will begin introducing evidence Monday supposed to show a pattern of improper sexual behavior by the singer. They say Jackson’s behavior with boys in the past adds credibility to the accusations of a 15-year-old cancer survivor who says the singer molested him two years ago.
On Sunday, a rally at a hotel attended by about 200 Jackson fans included a call from the singer himself in which he told fans, “God and the truth are on our side. We will be victorious.”
Jackson, whose comments were limited because he is under a court gag order, said he has “the most wonderful fans in the world.”
Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting the boy at his Neverland estate in February or March 2003, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy’s family captive to get them to make a video rebutting an ABC-TV documentary that aired on Feb. 6, 2003.
In a major setback to the defense, Judge Rodney Melville ruled a week ago that the jury could hear allegations the pop star molested or had designs on five other boys, including actor Macaulay Culkin and two youngsters who reached multimillion-dollar settlements with the singer.