In February, law enforcement in New York seized a firearm belonging to E. Jean Carroll, best known for her legal battles with former President Donald Trump. This confiscation was prompted by testimony she gave in her civil defamation suit against Trump. According to a police report obtained by NBC News, Carroll testified that she possessed an unlicensed gun at her home.
On February 15, Carroll was visited at her residence by the police chief of Warwick, N.Y., to discuss matters including Carroll's acknowledgment of owning a handgun during the testimony she gave from the witness stand on January 17.
On the trial's second day, Carroll testified in a federal courtroom in lower Manhattan that she kept a “high standard revolver, nine chambers” at her home, along with ammunition. Carroll indicated that the revolver was stored “by my bed,” while adding, "I still do not have a license," Carroll added.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who was overseeing the case, visibly expressed frustration with Trump's attorney Alina Habba's line of questioning of Carroll on the witness stand. He firmly instructed her, "Don't even start," when she broached the topic of Carroll's firearm, as Habba pushed Carroll on whether she was aware she needed a permit for the pistol.
According to the report filed by Officer John Rader, he offered to secure the weapon at the police station for safekeeping, which Carroll and a member of her security team surrendered the following day. The gun will be held until Carroll obtains a New York pistol license.
Under New York state law, a person can be found guilty of criminal possession if they possess a firearm, such as a pistol, that has not been registered. The felony carries a maximum sentence of four years. It was unclear why police waited almost a month to inquire in person about the unregistered gun Carroll said she had at her house, whether police are still in possession of it, and if criminal charges will be brought against the 80-year-old Carroll.
Carroll's possession of a firearm was featured in an interview with the Trump accuser published in The Guardian in 2019, ‘I accused Donald Trump of sexual assault. Now I sleep with a loaded gun’
More importantly, why is there a gun on her bedside table?
'It’s loaded,' Carroll says. She picks up the revolver, which has a fake pearl handle, and waves it around. 'I’ve always had a gun,' she says. 'When I’m doing Skype calls with my friends, I like to pull it out. But I’ve never had it loaded. Not until now.'
A loaded gun by the bed is one of the prices you pay if you are a woman who has just accused the president of the United States of raping you.
The jury ordered Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages, comprising $11 million for damage to her reputation, $7.3 million for emotional harm and other damages, and $65 million in punitive damages.
Judge Kaplan rejected Trump's attorneys' arguments to dismiss the case due to Carroll deleting threatening messages. Trump was previously found liable for defaming Carroll, and last month he posted a $91.6 million bond while appealing the verdict. The bond amount exceeds the total damages because it is required to be 110 percent of the judgment value during the appeal process.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee continues to deny all allegations against him.
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