CNN’s Laura Coates described the emotions and trauma of seeing a man set himself on fire Friday outside the courthouse for Donald Trump’s New York hush money criminal trial.
“I just have to tell you: I have been a student of history for a long time — I cannot … overstate the emotional response of watching a human being engulfed in flames and to watch his body be lifted into on a gurney here,” Coates said minutes after watching the disturbing scene happen near her.
“Knowing that we're here to document history, but to know about what is just taking place,” Coates continued, “what an emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment here in Manhattan.”
The immolation happened just minutes after the full jury was selected in Trump’s trial.
First responders rushed to the scene to extinguish the fire, and rushed the person to the hospital. Police confirmed to multiple news outlets that the man was badly burned.
The man appeared to have brought literature with him before he set himself on fire, and someone shouted at him not to do it before it happened, according to Spectrum News NY1 reporters on the scene.
The details leading up to the immolation, and the reasons why he did it, are not confirmed at this time. Trump supporters and those protesting him have been present outside the courthouse all week amid the first criminal trial of a former president in the history of the United States. But while security has been tight with barricades around the courthouse, people have been able to gather.
Emotions were high Friday during jury selection: Two jurors broke down in tears and a third was excused after expressing anxiety about being on the case. One prospective juror was already dismissed earlier this week after identifying information about her was reported online.
