Under threat, Manafort trial judge reports

Will keep names of jurors secret at case’s end, he says

Va. — The judge in Paul Manafort’s financial fraud trial said Friday that he has received threats and he fears for the “peace and safety” of the jurors deciding the fate of President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III revealed his concerns shortly before the jury concluded its second day of deliberations.

“I’ve received criticism and threats. I imagine they would, too,” he said when explaining why he doesn’t intend to make jurors’ names public at the end of the trial.

Jury lists are presumed to be public unless a judge articulates a reason for keeping them secret.

The judge said he is currently under the protection of U.S. marshals.

“They go where I go,” he said. “I don’t even go to the hotel alone; I don’t give the name of the hotel.” The judge lives in Charlottesville but stays at a hotel on the weekdays when he works out of the Alexandria courthouse. A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately comment.

Jurors ended their second day of deliberations Friday a half-hour early, without reaching a verdict. They sent a note to the judge asking to wrap up at 5 p.m. instead of 5:30 p.m. because a juror had an event to attend. They are

incumbent appeared on the ballot. Incumbent Erma Hendrix, 88, who took the Ward 1 office in 2007, has filed to run for re-election.

The election is Nov. 6. Kathy Wells, president of the Coalition of Little Rock Neighborhoods, said the heightened interest in this year’s local races is likely because there’s no mayoral incumbent as well as a notion of more receptiveness to diversity and outsiders.

“People feel bolder in this political time than ever before,” Wells said.

Running to succeed Stodola are:

Baker Kurrus, the 64-yearold former state-appointed superintendent of the Little Rock School District.

State Rep. Warwick Sabin, D-Little Rock, 41.

Glen Schwarz, 64, the executive director of the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Frank Scott Jr., 34, the vice president of First Security Bank.

Vincent Tolliver, 51, a consultant for the Little Rock School District.

Stodola is the city’s first full-time mayor since Little Rock’s switch to a city manager form of government in 1957. All mayors between then and now had been part time. An appointed city manager controls all municipal programs, while the mayor has an office in City Hall, presides over Board of Directors meetings and has veto and appointment powers. The salary is $160,000 a year. Little Rock has nearly 200,000 residents.

Fort Smith, the state’s second-largest city with a population of about 86,210, had three mayoral candidates in a race without an incumbent. Rep. George McGill, D-Fort Smith, was elected Tuesday and will be the city’s first black mayor.

But Little Rock’s record stands in the shadow of Pine Bluff’s 2012 mayoral race, when nine people, including the incumbent, ran for the office.

Little Rock city board members serve four-year terms and are paid $18,000 annually.

Challenging Hendrix for the Ward 1 seat are:

Ted Adkins, 52, a retired Little Rock police officer.

Herbert Broadway, 59, a nightclub owner.

Bryan Frazier, 42, the owner of Capitol View Studio.

Greg Henderson, 35, the publisher of Rock City Eats.

Ronnie Jackson, 55, president of the East Little Rock Neighborhood Association.

Curtis Johnson, 50, the interim executive director of operations at Arkansas Baptist College.

Danny Lewis, 52, a Realtor and minister.

Robert Webb, 49, an activist.

In addition to the Ward 1 seat, representatives for wards 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 are also up for re-election. All the incumbents are running.

Challenging incumbent Ken Richardson, 52, for the Ward 2 south-central Little Rock seat are:

Rohn Muse, 65, a former professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Shalonda Riley, 39, an actress, model and motivational speaker.

Valerie Tatum, 54, executive director of Covenant Keepers Charter School.

Ward 3 City Director Kathy Webb, 69, and Ward 5’s Lance Hines, 49, have filed to run for re-election with no opposition. Webb serves as vice mayor. Ward 3 includes Hillcrest and the Heights.

Challenging incumbent Doris Wright, 59, for the Ward 6 west-central seat are:

Vicki Hatter, 39, a member of the Little Rock School District Parent and Family Engagement Committee.

Russ Racop, 59, a blogger and government critic.

Sandy Becker, 67, a former Little Rock School District employee.

Challenging incumbent B.J. Wyrick, 68, for the Ward 7 southwest Little Rock seat are:

Edmond Davis, 41, a small-business owner.

Robert Williams, 52, president of the Westwood Neighborhood Association.

November also will feature the state gubernatorial election between Republican incumbent Asa Hutchinson and Democratic challenger Jared Henderson, as well as the race for the 2nd Congressional District seat. Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. French Hill, Democratic state Rep. Clarke Tucker and Libertarian Joe Swafford are running for that seat.