Man sets himself on fire outside N.Y. courthouse where Trump trial being held

A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place, but he did not appear to have been targeting Trump, officials said.

The man burned for several minutes in full view of television cameras that were set up outside the courthouse, where the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president is being held.

"I see a totally charred human being," a CNN reporter said on the air.

Officials said the man survived. "The victim is in critical condition but is alive and intubated," said New York Fire Department Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.

Witnesses said the man pulled pamphlets out of a backpack and threw them in the air before he doused himself with a liquid and set himself on fire. One of those pamphlets, titled "The True History of the World (Haunted Carnival Edition)," included references to "evil billionaires," but portions that were visible to a Reuters witness did not mention Trump.

Officials said that until recently, the man lived in St. Augustine, Fla., and did not appear to be targeting Trump or others involved in the trial.

"Right now we are labelling him as sort of a conspiracy theorist and we are going from there," Tarrik Sheppard, a deputy commissioner with the New York Police Department, said at a news conference.

WATCH | Woman tells reporters what she saw before man lit himself on fire:

Eyewitnesses describe scene of self-immolation outside Trump trial courthouse

10 hours ago

Duration 0:49

After watching a man set himself on fire in the plaza outside the courthouse where former U.S. president Donald Trump's hush-money trial is taking place, an eyewitness told reporters what she noticed about the individual in the moments before he ignited the flames.

'Hard to even process'

Witnesses on the scene said they were disturbed by the incident.

"It's hard to even process in your brain," one witness, who declined to give his name, told Reuters.

A smell of smoke lingered in the plaza shortly after the incident, according to a Reuters witness, and a police officer with a fire extinguisher sprayed the ground. A smouldering backpack and a gas can were visible. Police quickly taped off the scene and could be seen picking up the pamphlets.

The downtown Manhattan courthouse, heavily guarded by police, drew a throng of protesters and onlookers on Monday, the trial's first day, though crowds have dwindled since then.

The shocking development came shortly after jury selection for Trump's trial was completed, clearing the way for prosecutors and defence lawyers to make opening statements next week in a case stemming from hush money paid to a porn star.

The 12 jurors, along with six alternates, will consider evidence in the first-ever trial to determine whether a former U.S. president is guilty of breaking the law.

The jury consists of seven men and five women, who are mostly employed in white-collar professions: two corporate lawyers, a software engineer, a speech therapist and an English teacher. Most are not native New Yorkers, hailing from across the United States.

Hours after the jury was seated, an appeals court judge rejected a last-minute bid by the Republican to halt the trial over his claims that jury selection was unfairly rushed.

The judge said lawyers will present opening statements Monday morning before prosecutors begin laying out their case. alleging a scheme to cover up negative stories Trump feared would hurt his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump is accused of covering up a $130,000 US payment his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says they had a decade earlier.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and denies any such encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in three other criminal cases as well, but this is the only one certain to go to trial ahead of the Nov. 5 election, when the Republican politician aims to again take on Democrat and U.S. President Joe Biden.

A conviction would not bar Trump from office.