2023-12-14 05:50:26
NEW YORK — The New York City courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s corporate fraud civil trial is being held was briefly evacuated Wednesday, hours after testimony concluded, when a man set fire to some papers and He then sprayed them with a fire extinguisher, officials said.
Firefighters arrived at the New York State Supreme Court building in lower Manhattan shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday to respond to an alarm on the fourth floor. There was visible fog on the staircase between the third and fourth floors, according to a journalist from Associated Press who was asked to leave the building.
A man was arrested after setting fire to some documents, court spokesman Al Baker said. He did not provide further details but said the incident is under investigation. Those who evacuated were allowed to return shortly after. No injuries were reported.
Authorities did not immediately identify the arrested man.
The evacuation came hours after the conclusion of testimony in Trump’s civil fraud trial case, which has unfolded on the building’s third floor for nearly three months. Among those evacuees was Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the trial.
Trump was not in the building on Wednesday. Attorneys in the case are scheduled to present their closing arguments next month.
The courthouse, with its Corinthian columns and wide entry steps, is recognizable to many from its frequent appearances in movies and television shows, including “Law & Order” and “Night Court.”
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