An unknown individual heckled Joe Tacopina, one of former President Donald’s Trump’s attorneys, outside the New York City courthouse following a jury’s verdict in a civil case brought forward by former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
A nine-person jury found Trump liable for sexual battery and defamation, but not liable for rape. Carroll had accused the former president of raping her inside a dressing room at Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995 or 1996.
A heckler repeatedly yelled at Tacopina as the lawyer was answering reporters’ questions outside the courtroom.
“You’re a f*cking neanderthal!” a man’s voice yelled. “You’re a f*cking neanderthal! F*ck you, Tacopina! You f*cking neanderthal!”
Tacopina ignored the heckling and told reporters that it was impossible to get a “fair trial” in New York, adding that there were inconsistencies in Carroll’s accusations. Carroll had called the incident a “rape,” which the jury rejected. (RELATED: ‘You’re Being Arrogant’: Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera, Leo Terrell Go Back And Forth On Trump Verdict)
“It’s a big inconsistent, because all along she says it was a rape. Not that she wasn’t certain if it was a rape, it was a rape and she said that and the jury rejected it,” he said. “So, it’s hard to sort of square that with the rest of the verdict … I’m a little perplexed, guys, honestly, in that regard.”
Tacopina requested a mistrial, which Judge Lewis Kaplan denied in a May 1 decision. The court barred the former president’s attorneys from asking Carroll if she attempted to obtain surveillance footage from the department store that would have shown Trump’s presence. Tacopina also argued that the court expressed a corroborative view that no one was present on the sixth floor where the rape was said to occur.
The former president called the jury’s verdict a “disgrace” in an all-capital lettered statement on Truth Social.
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” Trump wrote.