Man Lights Himself on Fire Outside Trump Trial Courthouse
AENN
Spencer Brown | April 19, 2024 1:55 PM
A man set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump was participating in the final day of jury selection for his “hush money” trial.
Moments after the final alternate jurors had been chosen on Friday afternoon, rounding out the 18-member panel set to hear the trial, Fox News Channel was live outside the courthouse for a report from the network’s Eric Shawn when he spotted flames shooting high into the air from the park behind his cameraman.
Shouting for the camera to turn before realizing the fire was not a trash can but a person, Shawn quickly called for a fire extinguisher or coats to smother the flames. Fox News quickly cut away from the feed to courtroom sketches of the Trump trial as Shawn continued calling for help.
Watch the moment as it happened live:
Fox News was live when a man “set himself on fire in the protest area here at the Donald trump trial.”
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) April 19, 2024
(warning: graphic) pic.twitter.com/k5q0r131uG
The identity of the man remains unknown at the time of publication, as does his reason for self-immolating.
Shawn said in a subsequent report that the man was in a “protest area” when he set himself on fire. After speaking with other witnesses, he said that the man was walking toward an area where a group of Trump supporters were gathered and started throwing colorful pieces of paper in the air which grabbed attention from onlookers. After tossing the papers, the man then doused himself with a flammable liquid, presumably gasoline, and lit himself on fire.
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According to Shawn’s recounting of the incident, coats and a fire extinguisher were used to put out the flames and first responders quickly arrived on the scene. Shawn also noted that the man was still moving a bit as he was being treated but the man’s condition is unknown.
