The lower Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial has taken place for the last 10 weeks was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after someone set papers on fire and used multiple fire extinguishers on the same floor as the courtroom, just four hours after testimony in the trial concluded. The presiding judge in the lawsuit, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, was in his robing room when he heard shouting on the floor. He was safely escorted from the courthouse and was unaware of any specific potential personal threat at the time he evacuated.
Two courthouse officials told Business Insider that a man ignited a small fire with a firework and then set off two or more fire extinguishers. The man, who was not a courthouse employee and was not identified, was arrested, the officials said. Fire and police personnel responded quickly to the incident. The judge and other courthouse employees were permitted to return to the fourth floor at around 5 p.m. to collect their personal items before leaving for the day. One officer told the judge and others heading upstairs to wear a mask if they had one because chemicals from the fire extinguishers had contaminated the area. No one was hurt, and it was not immediately clear what prompted the man to start the fire.
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