The jury that will weigh allegations former President Donald Trump sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll at trial next month in Manhattan will remain anonymous through the duration of the case, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
Judge Lewis Kaplan found that if the identity of the jurors were publicly known, they’d likely face intense media scrutiny as well as harassment and threats by supporters of Trump, 76.
“Indeed, Mr. Trump himself has made critical statements on social media regarding the grand jury foreperson in Atlanta, Georgia, and the jury foreperson in the Roger Stone criminal case,” he wrote.
Kaplan issued the order in response to two news organizations that had requested the jurors’ names be made publicly available for the Manhattan federal court trial that’s scheduled to begin on April 25.
His ruling added: “This properly may be viewed in the context of Mr. Trump’s many statements regarding individual judges, the judiciary in general, and other public officials, as well as what reports have characterized as “violent rhetoric” by Mr. Trump including before his presidency.”
Carroll claims Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and later defamed her in statements he made about it, according to her lawsuit.
Trump has denied wrongdoing.