A man has set himself on fire outside the courthouse in New York where former US President Donald Trump is on trial.
The man was in a designated protest area for pro and anti-Trump demonstrators outside the Manhattan courthouse.
The New York Police Department said it has opened an investigation after its officers responded to the fire at around 1:37pm local time (6:37pm UK time).
The force added that the man has been taken to hospital and is in a critical condition.
It comes after jury selection for Trump’s hush money trial concluded with 12 people, and six alternatives, chosen to decide whether the former US president covered up payments to women who alleged they had affairs with him.
Footage shared on social media shows a man lying on his back on the pavement outside the courthouse while the lower part of his body is on fire.
Another man sprays him with a fire extinguisher which appears to put the fire out.
A police officer uses a fire extinguisher as emergency personnel respond to the scene where a person was on fire. Pic: Reuters
Police officers are seen running over to the scene as the fire is extinguished.
The former US president was preparing to leave the courthouse before the man set himself on fire.
Onlookers saw the man douse himself in a fluid before the blaze.
He is also said to have thrown pamphlets in the air before setting himself alight.
There was a heavy police presence outside the courthouse due to the high profile nature of the trial.
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