The home of Judge Arthur Engoron, presiding over a fraud case against Mr Trump in New York, received a bomb threat hours before closing arguments.
"We are aware of a bomb threat against Judge Engoron," Al Baker, a spokesman for the New York state court, said on January 11.
A spokesman for Nassau County, New York, confirmed that police and the bomb squad quickly responded to a security incident at Judge Engoron's home at 5:30 a.m. on January 11 (about 5:30 p.m. Hanoi time), but did not provide further information.
It is unclear whether Mr. Ergoron was home at the time. The incident is under investigation.
Judge Arthur Engoron at closing arguments in the lawsuit against Trump at the New York State Supreme Court on January 11. Photo: Reuters
Judge Engoron is presiding over a $370 million financial fraud lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against former President Donald Trump, the Trump Organization and his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
The bomb threat came just hours before closing arguments in the case were set to begin on January 11.
On January 10, Judge Engoron and Trump attorney Christopher Kise had a tense email exchange over whether the former president could speak at the hearing. Engoron declined the request.
Security has been a major issue throughout the months-long trial, and Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked Judge Engoron personally over the past year.
Engoron’s secretary also faced threats after Trump accused her of bias. Judge Engoron later issued an injunction barring Trump from insulting court staff. The former president was fined $15,000 for violating the order twice.
Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to ban Mr. Trump from New York state real estate and fine him $370 million, an estimate based on the “ill-gotten gains” the Trump Organization made through fraud.
Mr. Trump is said to have inflated his assets by 17-35% annually, equivalent to about 812 million-2.2 billion USD, to obtain more profitable bank and insurance contracts in New York during the period 2011-2021. James's documents claim that the former president's behavior of falsifying assets helped him gain illegal profits.
Mr. Donald Trump (right) and his lawyer at a court hearing in New York on January 11. Photo: Reuters
Attorney Christopher Kise argued on January 11 that the financial fraud lawsuit in New York targeting Mr. Trump is fabricated and politically motivated.
Mr Trump, a leading Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, has also denounced the trial as a “witch hunt” aimed at hampering his campaign. The former president has complained that he has not been allowed to argue in the case against him.
"I really have no rights," he said when he arrived at the court on January 11 to attend the argument.
In addition to this civil lawsuit, Mr. Trump is also facing prosecution for actions before, during and after his presidency, including two state cases in New York and Georgia and two federal cases in Florida and Washington.
Thanh Tam (According to CNN, Reuters, NBC News )
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