CNN reporter tells how man sets himself on fire during Trump trial

A man set himself on fire outside the courthouse where jurors are being chosen for former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates witnessed the self-immolation and spoke live on air about the “incredibly disturbing moment.”

“I have to tell you that I have been studying history for a long time. I cannot exaggerate the emotional reaction of seeing a human being engulfed in flames and their body being lifted onto a stretcher,” Coates said on air. “Here we are, knowing that we are here to document history, but to know what just took place – what an emotional and incredibly disturbing moment here in Manhattan.”

The man was in an area designated for protesters outside the Manhattan courthouse, where jurors and alternates for Trump’s trial were being chosen on Friday. According to local news media, the man was doused with an accelerant across the street from the courthouse and was quickly engulfed in flames as bystanders ran away. Police officers rushed there and tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, after which the man was taken to an ambulance.

Coates reported live on CNN, with cameras capturing the moment she saw the self-immolation and began to explain what was happening. At first the chaos appeared to be an active shooter, but she quickly corrected herself and reported that the man had set himself on fire live. Cameras captured images of the flames and then turned to focus on Coates as she spoke.

“We have a man who set himself on fire,” she said. ‘A man has just laid out outside the courthouse. Our cameras are rolling now. A man has now set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse as we wait for history to be made.”

Eyewitnesses told media that the man threw leaflets into the air before setting himself on fire. There is no clear reason why he set himself on fire, and reports indicated the man was still alive but in “critical condition” while in the ambulance.

The 12 jurors and six alternates in Trump’s trial had been chosen, and the court was about to take a break when the man set himself on fire outside. Trump is accused of being part of a vast scheme to bury negative press stories about him ahead of the 2016 election, including making hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal to cover up alleged affairs. As he prepares for the 2024 presidential election, he has denied these claims.