White powder spills out of envelope addressed to Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over Trump case

Amanda Woods, Joe Marino, Olivia Land, Kyle Schnitzer, Ben Kochman
·2 min read
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A suspicious white powder spilled out of an envelope addressed to the judge who oversaw former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud case on Wednesday, sparking a massive emergency response at the Manhattan Supreme Court building.

The substance spilled onto a New York state court officer’s pants around 9:30 a.m. after he opened the envelope sent to Justice Arthur Engoron from Florida, police and sources told The Post.

The unidentified powder was deemed safe shortly before 1 p.m., police said.

The NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit as well as the FDNY responded, the authorities explained.

As of noon Wednesday, the building had not been evacuated and there were no reported injuries, they noted.

Two people at the scene exposed to the substance refused medical attention, according to the FDNY.

Ambulances arrive at the scene. Steven Hirsch
Ambulances arrive at the scene. Steven Hirsch

Engoron — who levied a $355 million fine against Trump earlier this month — was not exposed, but two people were isolated, Law360’s Frank G. Runyeon wrote on X.

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

“Emergency services were dispatched,” the statement went on. “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 confirmed Engoron had no exposure and that the court remained opened despite the incident.

The scare came one day after Attorney General Letitia James’ office receive an envelope that also contained white powder, a source told The Post.

The substance was tested and came back negative for hazards.

The office of federal Judge Lewis Kaplan — who oversaw Trump’s defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll in the Southern District of New York — was also on high alert after the incident, according to sources.