Man Hurls Firebomb at Judge; Injuries Slight

A hooded man walked into court Tuesday and hurled a firebomb that bounced off a judge’s head and ignited a blaze that gutted the room.

Three people were slightly hurt as jurors and others in the courtroom rushed toward the only exit, and Circuit Judge George Miller suffered a cut on the scalp when he was hit by the flaming, fuel-filled bottle.

“It was obvious that he was pretty much aiming it at the judge and trying to hurt the judge,” said juror Abra Bonnell. “Everybody left the jury box screaming.”

The man fled after the attack, which came during testimony in a medical malpractice case.

“He didn’t say a word,” said another juror, David Chambers. “He came in, looked around, grabbed the bottle out, lit it and then threw it. I looked back, and the judge’s bench was on fire, and it went up the back wall of the courtroom.”

Workers at the Champaign County Courthouse detained a man in a black, hooded sweatshirt shortly after the firebombing in the third-floor courtroom. But after he was shown to witnesses, investigators decided he was not the man who lit the rag-filled bottle containing an amber liquid.

Authorities were questioning several other people Tuesday night and had several strong leads, said sheriff’s deputy Gary Turner.

The incident spotlighted concerns about security at the 96-year-old courthouse, which has at least four entrances, no metal detectors and five unarmed guards.