A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the Manhattan courthouse in New York where former President is on trial in a hush-money case.
“A male did light himself on fire outside of the Supreme Courthouse. We’re still gathering details from the field,” a New York Police Department spokesman said. The man’s motive is unknown.
An eyewitness said the man threw pamphlets into the air before dousing himself with a liquid and lighting himself on fire.
New York police said the victim was “in critical condition but still alive” in a press conference on Friday.
The man was rushed to the New York–Presbyterian Hospital and was in a critical condition.
Jury selection concludes
A full jury, including alternates, has been selected inside the courtroom for Trump’s trial.
The stems from a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
It could keep him in court for weeks and complicate his bid to win back the White House in .
The jury selection process took seven days and were complicated, amid difficulty in selecting a group that would be completely objective.
Trump’s legal team had and move it out of Manhattan, arguing that a jury from the New York borough would be definitely biased against the former president.
The 12-member jury consists of seven men and five women, mostly employed in white-collar professions. The majority are not native New Yorkers, hailing from across the country and naturalized citizens from countries, including Ireland and Lebanon.
Why is Trump on trial?
Trump is the first president to face a criminal trial, which could last through May. He is required to attend the trial in Manhattan four days a week.
He is being tried over the accusation of covering up his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 (€122,000) payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford.
The money was allegedly paid to silence Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election, regarding a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump a decade earlier.
Trump has denied having the encounter with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Prosecutors say the payments to Cohen were falsely recorded as legal fees to hide their true purpose. Trump’s lawyers say the payments were in fact legal expenses, not a cover-up.
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2018 after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, among other crimes. He is also among the witnesses expected to testify in Trump’s hush-money trial.
rmt/lo (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editors note: If you are suffering from emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, seek professional help. You can find information on where to find help, no matter where you live in the world, at this website: www.befrienders.org
The post Man lights himself on fire outside Trump trial courthouse appeared first on Deutsche Welle.