Current:Home > FinanceProsecutors say NYC courthouse fire suspect burned papers with complaints about criminal justice-LoTradeCoin
Prosecutors say NYC courthouse fire suspect burned papers with complaints about criminal justice
View Date:2025-01-15 00:21:52
NEW YORK (AP) — The man charged with setting a small fire at the courthouse hosting Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial burned papers bearing complaints about criminal justice, prosecutors said Thursday.
Wednesday’s fire forced an evacuation of the main Manhattan civil court building hours after testimony wrapped up in the former president’s trial. But there was no indication the two events were related.
The 38-year-old man was arraigned Thursday on attempted arson and reckless endangerment charges. Bail was set at $50,000 cash or $150,000 bond.
It’s not clear what brought the man to the courthouse, familiar to many TV viewers as a backdrop for “Law & Order,” “Night Court” and other shows.
While on the fourth floor late Wednesday afternoon, the man set ablaze papers with handwritten criticisms of the criminal justice system, prosecutors said at his arraignment at a criminal courthouse down the street.
They said that after the man ignited the documents, he pulled an alarm and started dousing them with a fire extinguisher.
“I started the fire, then I put it out,” he told a court officer, according to a court complaint.
The smoke and extinguisher chemicals created a haze around the fourth floor and into the stairwells. There were no reports of serious injuries, though court system spokesperson Al Baker said Thursday that “many court officers suffered physically” and praised their “indispensable public service in a trying moment.”
The courthouse was evacuated, but people were allowed to return shortly afterward. Among them was Judge Arthur Engoron, who is deciding Trump’s case.
The trial had been unfolding in a big ceremonial courtroom on the third floor. The lawyers and others involved, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, left more than three hours before the fire upstairs. Trump wasn’t at court at any point Wednesday.
With testimony complete, closing arguments are set for Jan. 11.
Fires have put the brakes on the wheels of justice before in New York, where the court docket often includes prominent people.
In 2010, a smoky fire in the basement of the Manhattan criminal courthouse forced over 1,000 people to evacuate, left eight with minor injuries and shuttered the building for the day, delaying rap star Lil Wayne’s sentencing in a gun case. The blaze happened a few hours before he was due in court.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Justice Department says jail conditions in Georgia’s Fulton County violate detainee rights
- Job market red flag? Despite booming employment gains, white-collar job growth slows
- O.J. Simpson dies of prostate cancer at 76, his family announces
- Look back at Ryan Murphy's 'The People v. O.J. Simpson' following athlete's death
- Question of a lifetime: Families prepare to confront 9/11 masterminds
- From the Heisman to white Bronco chase and murder trial: A timeline of O.J. Simpson's life
- Uber and Lyft delay their plans to leave Minneapolis after officials push back driver pay plan
- Tennessee lawmakers send bill to ban first-cousin marriages to governor
- A pregnant woman sues for the right to an abortion in challenge to Kentucky’s near-total ban
- Conjoined Twins Abby and Brittany Hensel Seen for First Time Since Private Wedding News
Ranking
- Armie Hammer Says His Mom Gifted Him a Vasectomy for His 38th Birthday
- Biden Administration Slams Enbridge for Ongoing Trespass on Bad River Reservation But Says Pipeline Treaty With Canada Must Be Honored
- Coast Guard, Navy rescue 3 stranded men after spotting 'HELP' sign made with palm leaves
- Biden administration announces plans to expand background checks to close gun show loophole
- Taylor Swift Becomes Auntie Tay In Sweet Photo With Fellow Chiefs WAG Chariah Gordon's Daughter
- Congress is already gearing up for the next government funding fight. Will this time be any different?
- Cooling Summer Sheets and Bedding That Will Turn Your Bed Into an Oasis
- A piece of 1940s-era aircraft just washed up on the Cape Cod shore
Recommendation
-
Chris Wallace will leave CNN 3 years after defecting from 'Fox News Sunday'
-
The Downfall of O.J. Simpson: How His Murder Trial Changed Everything
-
Before murder charges tarnished his legacy, O.J. Simpson was one of the NFL’s greatest running backs
-
Will charging educators and parents stop gun violence? Prosecutors open a new front in the fight
-
Could trad wives, influencers have sparked the red wave among female voters?
-
Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says the abortion ruling from justices he chose goes too far
-
Here’s how investigators allege Ippei Mizuhara stole $16 million from Shohei Ohtani
-
Cannes 2024 to feature Donald Trump drama, Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' and more