LIVE UPDATES: Trump Manhattan Trial - Day 4

Update - 1:58 pm Eastern:

And...a man has reportedly set himself on fire outside the courthouse. Emergency crews have rushed the man away in an ambulance.

We'll have more on that story shortly.

Update - 1:55 pm Eastern:

The prospective alternate who referred to Trump as "the devil" was questioned and then excused for cause.

The fifth and sixth alternate jurors were selected, and the five additional alternates have been sworn in and advised trial will begin on Monday.

The court has adjourned for lunch.

Update - 1:30 pm Eastern:

Another prospective alternate juror was excused for cause after social media posts called into question his ability to be fair and impartial.

Justice Merchan: He told us he thought it was a women's rally, but he tagged it as "massive anti-Trump rally." We've come too far in this case to take a chance. I'm going to grant a challenge for cause.
Necheles: Next juror, look at these tweets.
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 19, 2024

Another challenge for cause is being discussed over a prospective alternate's characterization of Trump as "the devil."

Update - 1:15 pm Eastern:

There was a very interesting response from one of the prospective alternates regarding his feelings on Trump:

Another male potential juror gave a very lengthy answer about whether he likes Donald Trump, saying he has five or six answers depending on whether it's as a person, politician or businessman.
...
The man noted that Trump is a family man and a businessman and successful. He said that when looking at Trump as a politician, there's also the Republican Party — and "that's where things get a little bit tricky."
He said he likes lower taxes in this country but raises his concern that the Republican Party brings religion into people's rights and women's rights to their own bodies.
"If you take it all together on President Trump, I'd say neutral, leaning positive," the man says.
Three additional alternate jurors have been selected, bringing the total up to four.

The prospective alternate who voiced concerns regarding Trump's base was excused for cause. The prosecution and defense were each given additional peremptory strikes to use regarding the alternates.

Update - 12:40 pm Eastern:

More prospective alternate jurors are falling by the wayside as they acknowledge concerns they cannot be fair and impartial. One began crying as she was handed the microphone, stating:

I’m sorry. I thought I could do this. I wouldn’t want someone who feels this way to judge my case either.

Another expressed anxiety and self-doubt and was excused, bringing to six the number of prospective alternates dismissed Friday.

Another questioned expressed disapproval of Trump's base, while others expressed somewhat favorable opinions of the former president and/or his policies.

Update - 12:00 pm Eastern:

After further discussion, Judge Merchan has excused the juror who alerted the court to her prior conviction after thanking her for her forthrightness.

Judge Juan Merchan brought the potential juror who revealed a past conviction back into the courtroom and said he spoke with the Commissioner of Jurors.
He said being a convicted felon does not automatically disqualify her from serving as a juror, but because she doesn't have certain paperwork with her today, she has been excused.
He also commended her for telling her story in the courtroom: "What you just did is something that most people in this courtroom would not be able to do, so thank you." As she was leaving she said, "Good luck."

The remaining jurors are now being questioned by the attorneys.

Update - 11:30 am Eastern:

The questioning of prospective alternate jurors continues. One prospective alternate raised a prior conviction as a reason she may be disqualified, but for now, she remains.

662 (woman) You guys keep calling me back for jury service, but I did time in prison, I don't know why you keep calling me back.
Justice Merchan: Please approach.
[After a sidebar]
662: Sorry I cried. I used to be a dental hygienist but now can't do that legally
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 19, 2024

The court is now taking a brief recess.

Update - 11:00 am Eastern:

A third prospective alternate juror has now been excused after indicating she did not think she could be impartial.

Update - 10:30 am Eastern:

A second prospective juror has been excused after stating that, upon reflection, she did not believe she could be fair and impartial.

644 (woman) I've thought about it and could not be impartial.
Justice Merchan: You are excused.
616: I work in IT, I could help you fix these microphones. I live in Inwood. I work in [voluntarily not reported] Very little Facebook. 1 podcast, the order of man
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 19, 2024

Update - 10:00 am Eastern:

The questioning of 22 additional prospective jurors is underway. One has been excused after stating she has bad anxiety and does not believe she "can be completely here and fair."

Judge Merchan has indicated they are still working on the courtroom temperature.

We're on to Day 4 of the Manhattan criminal trial of former President Donald Trump and appear to be in the home stretch of the jury selection process. By the end of Thursday, 12 jurors and one alternate had been seated.

Judge Juan Merchan has indicated the plan is to seat six alternates total, meaning five more will need to be selected on Friday. The next panel of 96 prospective jurors has already been sworn, so once things get underway Friday morning, they may proceed fairly quickly. That is unless we see a repeat of Thursday morning (in which two of the already-seated jurors wound up being excused — one after confessing she did not feel she could be fair and impartial and the other after it turned out there were discrepancies between his responses and background information the prosecution discovered regarding him).

LIVE UPDATES: Trump Manhattan Trial - Day 3

Here's a rundown of the seven men and five women selected thus far — fair to say there are some who aren't particular fans of the former president, though some seemed to admire his business success and his bluntness.

Juror 5
This juror said that, as a “woman of color,” she has friends with strong opinions about Trump but that she tries to avoid politics herself and is not very interested in the news. While most of the jurors in the box indicated they were aware Trump faced other criminal cases, this woman signaled she did not.
She did say she likes Trump’s candid style.
“President Trump speaks his mind,” she said. “I’d rather have that than someone in office that we don’t know what he’s doing behind the scenes.”
This juror has lived in Harlem for her entire life and works in education. She gets her information from Google and TikTok, and she listens to “The Breakfast Club,” a radio show in New York City.
The juror’s mother and godfather have worked in law enforcement. Both are retirees from the New York Police Department.
Juror 6
During questioning, this juror said she can treat Trump like any other person on trial. “I would say that I think that Trump and I probably have different beliefs,” she said, “but I don’t think that that invalidates anything about who he is as a person.”
This juror is a native New Yorker who has lived in the Chelsea neighborhood for a year and a half. She works as a software engineer, and she gets her news from the New York Times and TikTok.

Given that Judge Merchan instructed the jurors who were seated on Thursday to return on Monday, Friday may be a relatively short day in court. That may be appreciated by all in attendance if the courtroom remains as cold as it apparently was Thursday. (There were multiple remarks — from the attorneys, jurors, and Trump himself — about how chilly it was.)

Update - 2:30 pm Eastern:

BREAKING: In a disturbing development, a man set himself on fire outside the courthouse Friday afternoon. Read more:

Man Self-Immolates Outside Trump Trial in Manhattan

Stay tuned here as we bring you live updates of the day's developments in the case.