Trump NY Trial Courthouse Fire Prompts Evacuation, Individual in Custody

Hours after the end of former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York, a man set a fire inside the courthouse, leading to an evacuation, authorities said on Wednesday.

New York's Office of Court Administration said that the man who set the fire is in custody.

“Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 4:15 pm today, an individual depressed a fire-extinguisher on the fourth floor at 60 Centre Street to douse a fire he had set to papers," the court's spokesman Al Baker said in a statement. "The New York Fire Department responded. Three floors of the courthouse were evacuated. There are no injuries reported. The incident is being investigated and the individual is in custody.”

Since Oct. 2, 2023, Trump's civil fraud trial has been playing out in the ceremonial courthouse on the third floor of the building. The 11-week-long trial had finished the evidence gathering phase of witness testimony some four hours before the incident, which was first reported by Insider.

According to Insider, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron was still in the robing room when the incident occurred, and he was escorted out of the building.

The New York City Fire Department said that they received a call at 4:11 p.m. ET, reporting a suspicious odor after an extinguisher was discharged. They reported 17 minor injuries in total, two of whom were transported to a downtown Manhattan hospital. They received 15 requests for medical attention, including a sergeant and 14 court officers.