By Patricia Hurtado
STAFF WRITER

January 31, 2005, 10:05 PM EST

The judge hearing the trial of activist lawyer Lynne Stewart Monday ordered that a U.S. Marshal accompany the van that transports jurors to and from court.

U.S. District Judge John Koeltl of Manhattan issued the order in response to an incident last week in which a van driver approached demonstrators carrying pro-Stewart signs. Koeltl also ordered that the driver no longer transport the jurors.

Stewart and her co-defendants, Ahmed Sattar and Mohamed Yousry, are accused of providing a “communications pipeline” between Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and his followers in the Egypt-based Islamic Group, a terror organization, in violation of several restrictions placed on the sheik.

Jurors complained last week that they felt threatened when the driver steered the van toward a crowd of reporters and demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse.

Meanwhile, the jury concluded a nearly seventh full day of deliberations yesterday without a verdict. They are slated to resume today.

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