(New York) A man attempted to set himself on fire Friday in front of the Manhattan court where Donald Trump is being tried, an act whose motivations are still unknown, even though a full jury was selected at the trial.
“A man set himself on fire outside the court. We are collecting information on site,” a New York police spokesperson told AFP.
The victim, with both hands behind his head, turned into a living torch for several seconds before falling to the ground, according to a video of the scene posted on social media. Police rushed to the man and a fire extinguisher was used against the blaze.
At the scene of the fire, in a square opposite the courthouse, clothes were still burning slowly on the ground and a strong smell was emanating, noted an AFP journalist on site. Ambulances were stationed.
A witness to the scene, who gave his name as Dave, 73, said he saw the man throw writings in the air before opening a box, dumping the contents on him and to set the fire with a lighter.
We do not know, shortly after this event, the state in which this person found himself and the reasons for his action.
This drama outside the courtroom unfolded around the time Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the proceedings, proclaimed that a full jury had been selected to try Donald Trump, including twelve regulars and six alternates.
Read “A full jury has been selected”
The first former US president to appear in a criminal trial, Donald Trump is on trial in a case of hidden payments to buy the silence of a former pornographic film star, Stormy Daniels, a few days before the 2016 election which he won on the wire against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.