By Nate Schweber and Matthew Haag April 19, 2024, 1:54 p.m. ET A young man set himself on fire on Friday afternoon near the Lower Manhattan courthouse where jury selection continued in the criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump.

The man doused himself with a liquid around 1:35 p.m. in Collect Pond Park, across the street from the courthouse. Onlookers screamed as bright orange flames engulfed the man. It was unclear what motivated his action.

People rushed over to try to extinguish the fire, but the intensity of the heat could be felt several hundred feet away.

After a few minutes, dozens of police officers rushed over and tried to smother the flames. The man, who appeared to be alive, was loaded into an ambulance and rushed away.

The man was in an area of the park that was cordoned off for supporters of Mr. Trump.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

https://web.archive.org/web/20240419180141/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/nyregion/man-on-fire-trump.html