During the fourth hearing of the trial in New York against Donald Trump in the case of porn star Stormy Daniels, a shocking episode occurred outside the court. While the jury was being completed, a still unknown man set himself on fire in the area of the park cordoned off for fans of the former president, throwing leaflets and dousing himself with flammable liquid.
His details and the causes of the gesture are still unknown, but it could be an act of protest by a Trump supporter. Passers-by reacted with dismay as the man burned for more than three minutes before police arrived to put out the flames and took him to hospital. The Secret Service notified Trump of the incident.
The incident occurred shortly after the completion of the jury, which saw several candidates withdraw for reasons of impartiality or fear of threats. The trial, the first against a former president, will get underway with preliminary statements from the parties starting Monday. The charges revolve around the payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels for her silence regarding an alleged affair with Trump in 2016, violating election law. Although they are less serious charges, they are reminiscent of the way Al Capone was indicted for a lesser crime, tax evasion.
