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‘12 everyday New Yorkers’ convicted Donald Trump. There are concerns for their safety.
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 30, 2024
Modified May 30, 2024
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Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 30, 2024
Modified May 30, 2024
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A dozen Manhattan residents delivered a verdict that made Donald Trump the first former U.S. president to be convicted of felony crimes on Thursday.
In a press conference just after Trump’s historic conviction, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s first words were to thank the jury — “the 12 everyday New Yorkers,” as he put it — for their work on the weeks-long case.
Now, those 12 jurors — as well as Bragg, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and court personnel — may have to worry about the serious potential for threats to their safety in the aftermath of one of the biggest verdicts in New York and U.S. history, leaving top state officials contemplating additional steps to secure their safety.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a statement, said her administration is coordinating with the NYPD and federal law enforcement to “monitor the situation” following the bombshell verdict Thursday evening at the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
"We are committed to protecting the safety of all New Yorkers and the integrity of our judicial system," Hochul said.
Mayor Eric Adams echoed the governor, saying the city's police department was at the ready.
“Our criminal justice process must be respected," the mayor said in a statement. "As we await the next steps, New Yorkers should rest assured that the NYPD stands ready to respond to any and all circumstances, including large-scale protests. While peaceful protests and assembly will always be protected, we will not be a city of any form of lawlessness.”
The chair of the state Senate’s judiciary committee, Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal of Manhattan, said the safety of the judge, jury and court workers is “of the utmost importance in the coming days and weeks.”
“Their protection, and this ruling, will demonstrate to the nation, and to the world, that we are indeed a nation governed by the rule of law,” the Democratic senator said.
Throughout Trump’s trial in Lower Manhattan, Merchan and the state Office of Court Administration took additional steps to ensure the jurors remained anonymous, with the judge — without objection from Trump’s legal team — specifically prohibiting the release of their names or addresses.
Judges can keep jurors anonymous — though not from the trial attorneys — when there’s “a likelihood of bribery, jury tampering, or of physical injury or harassment of jurors” in a particular case, according to state law.
Merchan ruled that was the case in Trump’s trial. Despite the judge’s orders, potential jurors raised concerns about their identities leaking out to the public.
One sworn juror, a Manhattan woman, was dismissed early on in the selection process after raising concern about the identifying information about her that did come out during the juror questioning process despite her name remaining anonymous. She told the judge she was receiving inquiries from family and friends asking if she was a juror.
In the courthouse, the jurors were not allowed to be photographed in the courtroom or as they walked the halls. At one point, Merchan ordered reporters not to report where jurors worked — which drew some consternation from media outlets, according to the Associated Press.
The state Office of Court Administration, or OCA, which oversees the state court system, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on potential security measures in place for jurors or the judge.
In his press conference following the 34-count unanimous verdict, Bragg said everyone should be “thankful for the careful attention that this jury paid to the evidence and the law, and their time and commitment over these last several weeks.”
He also thanked the NYPD and court officers for “securing the courthouse [and] all of our safety.”
Hoylman-Sigal, meanwhile, pointed to a recently passed state law known as the Judicial Security Act, which will allow judges and their close family members to seek a notice ordering public and private websites to stop publishing their address, phone number or similar identifying information.
The measure was not spurred by the Trump trial and does not take effect until July. But Hoylman-Sigal said he believes the state should consider expanding the measure to include additional court personnel, something that’s supported by the Association of Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
This story has been updated with comment from Mayor Eric Adams.
Tagged
new york state
new york city
public safety
manhattan
Kathy Hochul
Politics
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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