A man set himself on fire Friday across from the New York courtroom in which former President Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial is taking place.
The incident took place in a small barricaded park in Manhattan at about 1:30 p.m. according to the New York Post.
In a video posted to X, CNN legal analyst Laura Coates initially said there was an “active shooter” at the courthouse.
She then reported that “a man has emblazoned himself.”
“A man has now lit himself on fire in front of the courthouse in Manhattan,” Coates said.
“We are watching a man who is fully emblazoned in front of the courthouse today. We are watching multiple fires breaking out around his body and person. We have seen an arm that has been visible, that has been engulfed in total flames,” the CNN reporter said.
“There is chaos that is happening; people are wondering right now if people are in danger,” she said.
WARNING: Some viewers may find the following video disturbing.
BREAKING: A man sets himself ON FIRE behind CNN outside the New York City Courthouse.
“I can smell the burn of some sort of flesh.”
“I see a totally charred human being.” pic.twitter.com/fHqZaBt33P— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 19, 2024
According to The New York Times, the man had thrown pamphlets into the air before the fire was started.
The Times reported that some of the materials concerned former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Al Gore and lawyer David Boies, who represented Gore during the recount of the 2000 election.
The report said the man doused himself with an accelerant.
At least one person used a fire extinguisher on the man while an EMT also sought to provide aid to the individual, according to CNN.
The Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information for the New York Police Department said first responders were “aiding a person outside the courthouse,” according to Newsweek.
The individual was taken away on a stretcher, according to The Associated Press.
The Times reported that the man was still alive as he was taken away. There was no official word on his condition early Friday afternoon.
The fire was extinguished by members of the New York Fire Department.
Inside the courthouse, a 12-member jury was seated in the trial.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of allegedly “falsifying business records,” which Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is prosecuting as felonies.
The charges relate to alleged “hush money” payments to two women — porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal — during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Both Daniels and McDougal alleged they had affairs with Trump, which he has denied.
