CNN Anchors Shocked By Man Lighting Himself on Fire Outside Trump Trial: ‘I Can Smell the Burning of Flesh’

A shocking moment took place on Friday outside the New York City courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place when a man in the protest area set himself on fire in full view of news cameras.

CNN’s Laura Coates and Evan Perez were on the scene reacting in real time to the act, in shock. As she reported the graphic scene, she said she could “smell the burning of flesh.”

“I see a totally charred human being,” Coates said. Both Coates and Perez noted that the man was still moving while he was on fire and after the fire was put out. CNN also reported more details about the moments leading up to the incident:

The man walked into the park across the street from the courthouse, throwing flyers into the air, a senior law enforcement official told CNN. He then pulled something out of a backpack — it was not immediately what the item was — and lit himself on fire, the official said.

The incident took place as reports that a full jury, including alternates, had been seated for the Trump trial. Court had adjourned for lunch, and a Secret Service agent was seen speaking to Trump in the gallery.

The man’s identity is not known, nor is it known what his motivation was. He was taken away in an ambulance and was still alive after EMTs tried to render treatment on the scene.

This story has been updated.

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