Judge in Trump’s civil fraud case sent envelope with white powder

The New York judge who recently hit former president Donald Trump with a $355 million ruling in his civil fraud business trial was sent an envelope containing white powder, a source close to the situation told NBC. The source shared that neither Judge Arthur Engoron nor his staff were exposed to the substance, which was intercepted by a court officer during the daily pre-screening process for the judge’s mail.

The threat marks the latest in a string of targeted attacks. A bomb threat was reported at the judge’s Long Island home last month, hours before closing arguments in Trump’s trial. Following the start of the trial last year, Engoron and his law clerk faced a barrage of threats after the ex-president publicly slammed them on the internet. In the aftermath of those threats, court officials began working with “the FBI and Homeland Security to devise the appropriate security measures that would be implemented in order to protect the judge, his chambers staff, and those closely associated around him, including his family,” as NBC noted. The outlet also reported that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — who brought the criminal hush money indictment against Trump — was also sent an envelope with a white substance, as was Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., on Monday at his Florida home.