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A man accused of burning a woman chicago Last month Train was charged with an additional charge alleging that he attempted to set fire to City Hall days before the Train attack.
Prosecutors say Lawrence Reed, 50, maliciously damaged and attempted to destroy Chicago’s City Hall building by arson on Nov. 14, according to court records released Thursday.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson described the November 14 arson incident days after the incident, saying that someone tried to start a fire outside the building, but it did not spread beyond the initial flames or cause damage.
“It goes without saying that this type of violence has no place in our politics,” Johnson said.
In connection with the November 17 train attack, Reed was charged in November with terroristic assault, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Reed was sitting in the back of a Chicago Blue Line L train when he approached the woman while she was sitting with her back to him and poured gasoline on her.
The 26-year-old woman fought with the man when he tried to light the gas, then ran from one end of the car to the other as Reed pursued her, an investigator said in the affidavit, citing surveillance video from the train. According to the affidavit, Reed set the bottle on fire, approached the woman and set her on fire.
Images from surveillance video were presented in court in November before a judge agreed to keep Reed in jail pending trial for the attack, which has drawn national attention. The hearing also corroborated various court and law enforcement records dating back more than 30 years, detailing 50-year-old Lawrence Reed’s frequent contacts with police in and around Chicago.
Reed’s unusual behavior in the courtroom, including shouting “I plead guilty!” The judge’s repeated speaking out also made national headlines.