But there were only 21 seats available to the public in the 26th-floor courtroom, and the competition for access created a kind of arms race. If someone lined up outside at 5 a.m., someone else would try to make it by 4 a.m. the next day.
A few spectators went to absurd lengths to secure a seat. When it became clear that Mr. Bankman-Fried was planning to testify, a committed trial watcher got on a plane in London, flew overnight to New York and went straight from his hotel to the courthouse, arriving around 1 a.m. The following evening, a freelance journalist showed up just after 10:30 p.m. and huddled in the chill until the courthouse doors opened nine hours later.
Source: Inside the early-morning line to see Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial. – The New York Times
