NEW YORK – A man set himself on fire this Friday outside the New York court where former President Donald Trump is being tried, while jury selection that will seal the Republican’s fate in a historic trial promoted by Democrats was being completed.
It was not immediately clear if it had any connection to Trump’s trial, although it occurred on the street in front of the building where Trump was sitting in the dock, on the 15th floor.
The selection of the twelve starters and six alternates who will judge Trump had just finished when local TV began broadcasting live images of smoke coming from what was reported to be a person on fire.
A police officer could be seen running with a fire extinguisher and the CNN reporter said there was a strong smell of fuel and burning flesh.
“A man set himself on fire outside the Supreme Court. We are still gathering details on the ground,” an NYPD spokesperson said.
The fire appears to have occurred in a parking lot in front of the courthouse, which authorities have fenced off to organize pro- and anti-Trump protesters, as well as some media outlets.
Historical trial
Judge Juan Merchan said that once jury selection is completed, opening arguments in the trial could begin on Monday.
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Trump of 34 crimes for alleged document falsification, within a plot with which he would have tried to “hide” the payment of $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence and not talk about an alleged extramarital relationship before. of the 2016 elections.
The Republican, the first former president to sit in the dock for a criminal trial, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Upon his arrival at the court this Friday, Trump gave a statement about the gag order imposed by the Democratic judge that prevents him from speaking about the case, which he described as “very unfair.”
“The judge has to lift this gag order,” Trump said.
Merchan, a registered Democrat
Trump has said that this trial, like all the others he faces, is a witch hunt by Democrats, and that Merchan hates him.
Trump’s lawyers sought to change judges by noting that during the 2020 presidential campaign, Judge Merchan, a registered Democrat, had donated $15 to the campaign of his party’s candidate Joe Biden and $10 to a group called “Stop Republicans.” ”.
Likewise, the former president’s legal team pointed out that the judge’s daughter, who is president of the digital agency Authentic Campaigns, worked on several Democrats’ campaigns, including Biden’s.
Busy with the trial in the middle of the campaign, Trump has denounced being the victim of a “witch hunt” orchestrated by the Democrats to prevent him from returning to the presidency of the United States.
They identify the man
Preliminary information indicates that the man who set her body on fire is Maxwell Crosby Azzarello, a resident of St. Augustine in Florida.
Source: With information from AFP
