New York:

Terrorists, mafia bosses — and Donald Trump. What they have in common? When they go to trial, jurors have a difficult task and must remain anonymous for their own safety.

Being one of 12 New Yorkers on trial for arguably the most controversial politician in modern American history—a former president and a serious contender to return to the White House this November—was never an easy one. An easy thing.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said the case “will likely be important in determining who wins the presidency.”

In addition to the stress of being embroiled in a supreme legal-political drama, the five women and seven men selected must also worry about something more basic: their safety.

The charges against Trump — who is accused of falsifying business records while covering up affairs with porn stars — hardly reach the level of drug lords and mass bombers.

But Judge Juan Mercand still ordered anonymity measures more typical of these cases to prevent “the possibility of bribery, jury tampering or physical harm or harassment of jurors.”

Trump, who was barred from attacking witnesses and others involved in the trial, glowered in the courtroom.

Before going in on Friday, he launched into a diatribe about the “scam” trial to television cameras, and earlier this week he angered Merchant by muttering in the direction of jurors during jury selection.

“I will not allow any juror to be intimidated in the courtroom,” Mochan scolded.

Trump has long used his influence to belittle and insult anyone who offends him, often making false but provocative comments.

In 2019, then-President Trump denigrated former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch on social media while she was testifying before Congress about Trump’s impending impeachment for allegedly extorting the president of Ukraine. This caused a shock.

“It was very scary,” she said when she learned her character was being attacked on live television.

Tobias said anonymity is crucial “because jurors must be fully focused on the task of reaching a fair verdict” during the six- to eight-week trial.

-“high pressure”-

Two-thirds of Americans say serving on a jury is an important part of being a good citizen, according to the Pew Research Center, but not everyone is enthusiastic about it. A YouGov survey found that around 9% of people said they had lied to get out of a jury.

In Trump’s trial, jurors not only have to spend an unusually long time in a dingy Manhattan courthouse, but they also worry about being caught in Trump’s political pressure cooker, or worse.

“I’m sorry. I thought I could do this,” one woman said through tears as she asked to be excused from jury duty on Friday. “It was a lot more stressful than I thought it would be.”

For those who pass the highly invasive screening, anonymity can only go so far.

Only defense attorneys, prosecutors and the court know the names of jurors. But the screening process exposes so many biographical details — careers, hobbies, spouses — that it may not be difficult for Internet sleuths, journalists and even Trump supporters to uncover identities.

The next day, a previously appointed juror returned to the courtroom and told the judge she wanted to withdraw because friends and family had been asking her so many questions about the case.

Murchin lamented that she “could probably make a very good juror.”

– Aluminum Carbon –

In a country where political violence is on the rise, physical threats against jurors are a real concern. Trump’s biggest fans include armed militias and hundreds of people convicted of storming Congress on January 6, 2021.

A New York man admitted this week to making death threats to the judge overseeing a high-profile civil fraud case against Trump earlier this year. And grand jurors who voted to indict the real estate mogul in Georgia’s 2020 election interference case also received online threats.

If this all sounds a little reminiscent of gangsters, that’s because Trump is obsessed with such comparisons.

“I’ve been indicted more times than Alphonse Capone,” he proudly told a rally in October, referring to Capone, the murderous leader of a Prohibition-era criminal gang.

“Al Capone, he was really tough, right?”

“If you look at him the wrong way … he’ll blow your brains out. He was only sued once, I was sued four times.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)