A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher, news reports say.
The fire was extinguished Friday shortly after a jury and alternates had been seated in Trump’s criminal case, the Associated Press reported.
A person could be seen lying on the ground on fire. People then rushed over to douse the person with a fire extinguisher and try to bat the flames away. Emergency responders then rushed the person away on a stretcher.
A full jury of 12 people and six alternates had been seated in Trump’s hush money case just minutes earlier, drawing the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president a step closer to opening statements.
The fire happened in a park across the street from the courthouse that has been a gathering point for protesters and media outlets covering jury selection for Trump's trial.
Lawyers spent days quizzing dozens of New Yorkers to choose the panel that has vowed to put their personal views aside and impartially judge whether the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is guilty or not. The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.
The trial will place Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual role as criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his hotly contested race against President Joe Biden. It will feature salacious and unflattering testimony his opponent will no doubt seize on to try to paint him as unfit to return as commander in chief.
Over several days, dozens of members of the jury pool were dismissed after saying they didn’t believe they could be fair. Others expressed anxiety about having to decide such a consequential case with outsized media attention. The judge has ruled that their names will be known only to prosecutors, Trump and their legal teams.
One woman who had been chosen to serve on the jury was dismissed Thursday after she raised concerns over messages she said she got from friends and family when aspects of her identity became public. On Friday, another woman broke down in tears while being questioned by a prosecutor about her ability to decide the case based only on evidence presented in court.
Source: AP News
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