Former President Donald Trump was warned Tuesday to not intimidate prospective jurors after the judge accused him of "uttering something" to one of them -- shortly before six people were selected to serve on the jury for Trump's hush money trial.
"I won't tolerate that. I won't have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom," Judge Juan Merchan said, according to the New York Post.
The warning came after Merchan told Trump lawyer Todd Blanche that he heard Trump say something to a prospective juror who was "12 feet away from your client."
"Your client was audibly uttering something," Merchan said.
The judge's remarks came after Blanche asked to have a prospective juror stricken from the panel over two Facebook posts on the day of the 2020 election that Trump lost to President Joe Biden.
Another Trump lawyer, Susan Necheles, said one post showed the unidentified woman "celebrating and partying" at what Necheles called "clearly an anti-Trump event."
The woman was among several prospective jurors whose social media posts were cited by Trump's team as reasons they should be disqualified.
During the selection process that followed, six people were picked to serve on the jury, with Merchan saying he'd tell them to return on Monday, CNN reported.
But the judge noted that the schedule was subject to change, depending on what happens when jury selection resumes on Thursday.
The panel of 24 prospective jurors was then brought back into the courtroom and 12 who weren't picked were excused, with some smiling as they walked out.
Trump's legal team used six of its so-called peremetory challenges to strike people from the panel and prosecutors used four of their challenges, CNN said.
The people who made the cut were told to take seats in the jury box, with some reportedly appearing distressed as they did.
They include a young Black woman whose friends have strong opinions about Trump but who said she's not a political person and appreciates that Trump speaks his mind, according to the New York Times.
A young corporate lawyer who reads the Times and the Wall Street Journal was also picked, as was a woman who said she had no opinion of Trump.
"Especially in this courtroom, he will be treated as anyone else can be treated and no one is above the law," she said during earlier questioning by a Trump lawyer. "I am here for my civic duty. I'm here to listen to the facts."
The first juror picked, who will serve as foreperson, is a man from Ireland who works in sales, the Times said.
The jurors were sworn in and given instructions by Merchan that included avoiding news about the case, not conducting any research about it and not discussing it with anyone.
A second panel of 96 people was then brought into the courtroom, sworn in as prospective jurors and told to return Thursday morning.
The rest of Tuesday will be spent questioning the six prospective jurors from the first panel and finishing their selection process, CNN said.
State law requires 12 jurors for a criminal trial and Merchan has said there will likely be six alternates.
