A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place, witnesses said.
The person was taken away on a stretcher, a New York emergency official said. The reason for the incident was not known.
"It's hard to even process in your brain," a witness, who declined to give his name, told Reuters.
A smell of smoke lingered in the plaza shortly after the incident, according to a Reuters witness, and a police officer sprayed a fire extinguisher on the ground. A smouldering backpack and a gas can were visible.
Police officers quickly taped off the scene of the incident.
Nearby, a pamphlet was visible that referred to "evil billionaires" and called on people to "expose this corruption". The portion that was visible to a Reuters witness did not mention Trump.
The downtown Manhattan courthouse, heavily guarded by police, drew a throng of protesters and onlookers on Monday, the trial's first day, though crowds have dwindled since then.
Friday's shocking development came shortly after jury selection for the trial was completed, clearing the way for prosecutors and defence attorneys to make opening statements next week in a case stemming from hush money paid to a porn star.
The 12 jurors, along with six alternates, will consider evidence in a first-ever trial to determine whether a former US President is guilty of breaking the law. The jury consists of seven men and five women, mostly employed in white-collar professions: two corporate lawyers, a software engineer, a speech therapist and an English teacher. Most are not native New Yorkers, hailing from across the US and countries like Ireland and Lebanon.
Trump is accused of covering up a US$130,000 (NZ$221,000) payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she said they had a decade earlier. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and denies any such encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
He has pleaded not guilty in three other criminal cases as well but this is the only one certain to go to trial ahead of the November 5 election, when the Republican politician aims to again take on Democratic President Joe Biden.
A conviction would not bar him from office.
