Judge Arthur Engoron gets suspicious white powder in mail, Internet calls for 'heightened security'

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: At the Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 28, the judge, who presided over former president Donald Trump's New York civil fraud trial, received an envelope containing suspicious white powder.

The envelope, which was sent from Florida to Justice Arthur Engoron, was opened by a New York state court officer, who subsequently spilled the contents of the envelope onto their pants and thereby, had contact with the substance at approximately 9:30 am, as per the New York Post.

The incident prompted a swift and thorough emergency response at the Supreme Court building.

According to police and sources familiar with the matter, the unidentified powder was later deemed safe just before 1 pm.

What did authorities say about the bizarre envelope incident?

Emergency services personnel from the New York City Police Department's Emergency Services Unit and the Fire Department of New York were dispatched to the Supreme Court building in response to the inexplicable incident.

As of noon on Wednesday, the building was not evacuated, and no injuries had been reported, according to the authorities.

Two individuals present at the scene, who were exposed to the substance in question, declined medical attention, as reported by the Fire Department of New York.

Judge Engoron, who fined Donald Trump $355 million in a civil fraud case earlier this month, was not exposed to the white substance, but two other people were, as per Law360's Frank G Runyeon who wrote about the incident on X.

OCA Spokesperson Al Baker said, “Court staff at approximately 9:30 am Wednesday opened an envelope addressed to Justice Engoron containing a powdery substance.”

He continued, “Emergency services were dispatched. The operations office where the letter was opened was closed and the affected staff were isolated until Emergency Services tested the powder and its preliminary testing showed it was negative for hazardous substances.”

The statement has confirmed that Engoron was not exposed to any hazardous substance and that the Supreme Court building remained open despite the incident.

The event occurred one day after Attorney General Letitia James' office received an envelope containing white powder, according to sources.

The substance was tested and found to be free of hazards.

Sources have reported that the office of Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the defamation case involving former president Trump and writer E Jean Carroll in the Southern District of New York, was also on high alert following the incident.

Internet weighs in on bizarre white powder being sent to high-profile individuals in the mail

People took to X to express their opinion on an envelope being sent from Florida to Judge Arthur Engoron which was filled with a non-hazardous white powder, possibly as part of an elaborate prank being carried out by the sender.

One X user remarked, "Odd timing since Don Jr. received some envelopes recently."

Another user claimed, "Seems to be a lot of that going around."

Another user wrote, "Concerning and alarming incident highlighting the need for heightened security."

One user said, "No need for that, no matter how much you dislike someone."

Another X user quipped, "Bet they will find who sent this faster than they find who’s cocaine was in the White House."

Finally, this user tweeted, "I hope that the person who sent that is found and prosecuted."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.