NEW YORK – A man has died after setting himself on fire on April 19 outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.

The man burned for several minutes in full view of television cameras that were set up outside the courthouse, where the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president is being held.

An NYPD spokesperson said the man was declared dead overnight at a hospital.

Officials had previously said he was in critical condition.

Witnesses said the man pulled pamphlets out of a backpack and threw them in the air before he doused himself with a liquid and set himself on fire.

One of those pamphlets included references to “evil billionaires”, but portions that were visible to a Reuters witness did not mention Trump.

The New York Police Department said the man, whom they identified as Mr Max Azzarello of St Augustine, Florida, did not appear to have been targeting Trump or others involved in the trial.

“Right now we are labelling him as sort of a conspiracy theorist, and we are going from there,” Mr Tarik Sheppard, a deputy commissioner with the police department, said at a news conference.

In an online manifesto, a man using that name said he set himself on fire and apologised to friends, witnesses and first responders.

The post warns of “an apocalyptic fascist coup” and criticises cryptocurrency and US politicians, but does not single out Trump in particular.

A smell of smoke lingered in the plaza shortly after the incident, according to a Reuters witness, and a police officer sprayed the ground with a fire extinguisher. A smouldering backpack and a petrol can were visible.

The downtown Manhattan courthouse, heavily guarded by police, drew a throng of protesters and onlookers on April 15, the trial’s first day, though crowds have dwindled since then.

Jury selection completed

The 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, including 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 (S$177,000) payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says 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 Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Trump 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 Nov 5 election, when the Republican politician aims to again take on Democratic President Joe Biden.

A conviction would not bar him from office. REUTERS