chicago — A man accused of setting a woman on fire on a Chicago train last month has been charged with an additional charge alleging he tried to set fire to City Hall days before the attack on the train.
Prosecutors say Lawrence Reid50, “maliciously damaged and attempted to damage and destroy the Chicago City Hall Building on November 14, according to court records released Thursday.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson described the Nov. 14 arson attempt days later, saying someone tried to start a fire outside the building but it did not spread beyond the initial flames or cause damage.
“It is self-evident that this kind of violence has no place in our politics,” Johnson said.
Regarding the train attack that occurred on November 17, Reed was also He was charged in November Committing a terrorist attack, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Reed was sitting in the back of a Chicago Blue Line L train when he approached the woman as she sat with her back to him and doused her with gasoline, according to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrest affidavit.
The 26-year-old woman fought off the man when he tried to light the gas, then ran from one end of the car to the other as Reid chased her, an investigator said in the affidavit, citing surveillance video from the train. Reid then lit the bottle, approached the woman and set her on fire, according to the affidavit.
The images were from surveillance video Presented in court In November, before a judge agreed to keep Reed in prison awaiting trial for the attack that received national attention. The hearing also confirmed a variety of court and law enforcement records dating back more than 30 years detailing 50-year-old Lawrence Reed’s frequent contact with police in and around Chicago.
Reed is extraordinary Courtroom behaviorIncluding shouting “I plead guilty!” Repeatedly as the judge spoke, she also made national headlines.