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Chicago man accused in train attack is also charged with attempted arson in City Hall fire
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This still image taken from Chicago Transit Authority surveillance footage and included in a federal court record shows a man who federal authorities identified as Lawrence Reed holding a flaming bottle and approaching a passenger, far left, on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, on a Chicago Blue Line train. - photo by Chicago Transit Authority/U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois via AP
CHICAGO (AP) — A man accused of setting a woman on fire on a Chicago train last month has been indicted on an additional charge alleging he attempted to set City Hall on fire days before the train attack. Prosecutors say Lawrence Reed, 50, “maliciously damaged and attempted to damage and destroy, by means of fire,” Chicago’s City Hall building on Nov. 14, according to court records released Thursday. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson described the Nov. 14 arson attempt days after it occurred, saying someone tried to start a fire outside of the building but that it did not spread beyond the initial flames or cause damage.