The New York City courthouse where former President Donald Trump has been battling prosecutors who claim he inflated the value of his businesses and properties was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after a fire was set.
The incident came several hours after testimony in the civil trial ended, according to the New York Post.
Trump was not at the courthouse at the time of the fire.
A sergeant and a court officer were taken to New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital for observation after suffering injuries, court representative Al Baker said.
Fire in NYC courthouse hosting Donald Trump’s trial leaves 17 injured as three floor are evacuated after person set papers on fire then used a fire extinguisher to put it out
Three floors of the state’s Supreme Court in lower Manhattan had to be evacuated on Wednesday afternoon… pic.twitter.com/Z067FN7qPd
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) December 14, 2023
Fifteen other people were injured but did not require hospitalization, he said. All of those injured were court workers, he said.
“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,” Baker said, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
Trump’s trial took place on the third floor of the building.
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“The New York Fire Department responded. Three floors of the courthouse were evacuated. There are no serious injuries reported. The incident is being investigated and the individual is in custody,” Baker said.
Judge Arthur Engoron, who is hearing Trump’s civil trial, was among those who were evacuated.
The Post reported that a suspect set papers ablaze and then used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.
The suspect is an individual who had litigation before the courts housed at the building, according to NBC, which cited a source it did not name.
Officials have not explained the motive for the fire being set.
Donald Trump court fire raises questions https://t.co/BfSILRzW9i
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) December 14, 2023
The Mail noted that although testimony in the civil trial ended Wednesday, closing arguments will take place next month.
As noted by The New York Times, Engoron has already issued a ruling that said Trump inflated his net worth. Engoron’s punishments, which included ordering the dissolution of some of Trump’s companies, have been stayed by an appeals court.
During the trial, New York State Attorney General Letitia James brought witnesses to say that the valuation Trump’s companies put on their assets was way out of line, while Trump summoned bankers who said they had no problems with the financial information provided by Trump’s businesses.
