At least 16 people required medical assistance Wednesday after a man set papers on fire in a hallway outside the New York City courtroom where Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial has been taking place for weeks, forcing the building to evacuate.
New York State Courts confirmed in a statement to The Daily Beast that preliminary information indicated an individual set the papers alight on the fourth floor of the New York County Courthouse and then subsequently attempted to douse them with a fire extinguisher.
It is unclear if the man’s actions were deliberate. He was not identified by New York State Courts but the Associated Press reports the individual is a man.
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“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,” court spokesperson Al Baker said.
The New York Fire Department responded to the fire, Baker added, and three floors of the courthouse were evacuated.
While there are no serious injuries, 16 people required medical assistance, according to Baker: “a Sergeant and a Court Officer were transported to NY Downtown Hospital for observation and 14 Court Officers were RMA’d on scene. Information was still preliminarily, Baker said, and could change.
“The incident is being investigated and the individual is in custody.”
While testimony in the former president’s fraud trial had wrapped hours earlier, Arthur Engoron, the judge overseeing the case, was in his robing room at the time and was among those evacuated, according to Business Insider. The man was arrested following the incident.
Trump was not in the courtroom Wednesday as the testimony came to a close in his trial, which is located on the building’s third floor.
