Judge warns Trump jurors in E Jean Carroll trial to never reveal themselves

The judge in the defamation trial against former President Donald Trump brought by writer E Jean Carroll warned the jurors in the case to never reveal their identities.

“My advice to you is that you never disclose that you were on this jury,” Judge Lewis Kaplan said in the courtroom.

While he said he wouldn’t disclose why he was telling them to keep their identities secret, previous legal actions against the ex-president have led to threats of violence against both jurors and judges from Trump supporters.

Mr Trump was ordered to pay $83.3m in damages to Ms Carroll after he repeatedly rejected her claim that he sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s. A previous jury found Mr Trump liable for sexually abusing Ms Carroll and this second defamation trial was only intended to decide on the damages as the facts of the case had been established.

The jury was composed of two women and seven men, who reached a unanimous verdict on Friday evening, awarding Ms Carroll $18.3m in compensatory damages as well as $65m in punitive damages.

As the proceedings ended on Friday, the jury came to a verdict around 4pm ET after about three hours of deliberations – reporters were notified at about 4.15pm that the jury was set to return and deliver the verdict at about 4.35pm. By that time, Mr Trump had departed the court.

E Jean Carroll and her attorney Roberta Kaplan

E Jean Carroll and her legal team leave court after a jury awarded her $83m in defamation damages in the case she brought against Donald Trump

Lashing out on Truth Social shortly before 5pm on Friday, Mr Trump said the proceedings were “Absolutely ridiculous!”

“I fully disagree with both verdicts and will be appealing this