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no real problems around the courthouse, right? >> reporter: no, and i'll tell you, so if we think back to the arraignment in april of 2023 when former president donald trump was first arraigned, this area was filled with protesters. if you remember marjorie taylor greene came to this area as well. she was kind of swarmed by press along with protesters showing her supportth for the former president of the united states. that was probably the biggest crowd that p i had seen in this area since this whole thing began. day one there were a significant or a more so significant amount of protesters in this area. i would say maybe 50 protesters are so. since then, we have seen a depletion of protesters in the area in which this individual eventually set himself on fire just about five or so minutes ago. maybe on tuesday there were possibly 10 to 15 individuals. in the last few days since we've been here, chris, today maybe one, two, or three stragglers with flags in support and/or
the crowd around this area. this individual was standing in the middle of this square on his own. as i mentioned, there may have been two other individuals that were walking about within that area about 20 to 25 feet away from him. so the moment it happened, audibly i heard screams from the right of me as i was on air with you talking about the jury, in which folks were saying he has set himself on fire, a man is on fire. at that point, chris, i saw the security personnel that we've been seeing out here all week long racing towards the entry area of this square, and to be clear, again, this area is cordoned off for protesters, right?ed so if you are here to protest, you can be in that area. to get i to where we are, you he to have an official press pass as well, so security is incredibly tight in all of these different sections that they had set up because of the former president being in the courtroom behind t me. so there was really no issue when it came to security. it was more controlling the
listen, there's a lot of intensity inside the courtroom, and now it seems like there's plenty of intensity outside the courtroom. >> reporter: there is.e there is. i just want to kind of give you an update, i know that we're following what's happening inside theth courtroom. i do want to give you an update out here, seeing chris, because i do think it's important. as you mentioned, as i talked about earlier, we have no idea if what just took place in front of me has any connection to what happened inside that courtroom over the last couple of days anv the ongoing hush money trial with the former president of the united states. but i wanthe to reiterate to fos what i just saw, which is an individual setting himself on fire just about 50 feet away from me. as we learned thatt a full jur had been impanelled in the hush money case involving a former president of the united states. he is currently moving, as security professionals and now new york fire department and nypd have allyo showed up in foe to put the fire out. the fire has now subsequently
again, we don't know exactly what the motivation is here, and we're not going to speculate on that, but we do want to get back to the very big news inside. and let me get your impressions now that there is a panel. we have the 12 jurors. we have the six alternates, lisa. what stood out to you from the time you spent in the courthouse today? >> i would say, chris, this is a day i would characterize is about pressure and feelings and anxiety. if that's been building all week, we really saw that come to a head today. we saw least four jurors essentially say today that they could notto serve because their anxiety or their nervousness. one of them was someone who said that her father had a relationship with someone who previously, aso high profile person who had a relationship with former president trump and whenor questioned by the defens that person just felt the pressure was too much forst the.
been extinguished. he is moving hisxt limbs, his as and his legs, but i'm not sure how ibu can describe to you jus how large, chris, this fire was. it was startling to see out of the corner of my eye as i was speaking to you on camera reading through the jury that had been impanelled and the individuals as i was describing to you their vocation out of the corner of my eye, seeing this fire completely light up the center square. therehe is an area just to my right, which is an area that they have cordoned off for protesters. that is an area that had been filled with protesters, for instance, back in april when the former president was originally arraigned. on monday, when this trial got up and going, this area was also full of protesters as well on both sides, by the way, both after anti-trump and pro-trump protesters. since monday, there have been fewer and fewer people, and quite honestly, in the last day or so, there have been maybe
impanelled, but it was an awful sight to see, chris, that this man setting himself on fire. >> well, as you say, we don't know what happened there, yasmin. we don't knowen if this was a suicide attempt, we don't know, so let's not -- i don't want to speculate, but the headline here -- and i'm sorry you had to see that, by the way. what an awful thing for anybody who was down there, but seven men, five women on the main jury, five women, one man on the alternate jury. i want to go back to paul butler and pick up on something you were saying before. to quote judge juan merchan, we have our full panel. does that necessarily mean that at, whatever, 9:30 on monday morning, the openings will begin? >> not necessarily. means that we have 18 people right now at about 1:40
himself on fire, and i am looking at this now. we don't have cameras trained on this individual, but it is unbelievable to see, chris. my gosh. >> is it over in an area, yasmin where -- >> he has now collapsed. he is about -- he is about 50 feet away from me, chris. he has now collapse on the ground. we have security running to this man, trying to put h their coatn him to put the flames out. he has set himself on fire and is now shaking it seems as the fire is being put out by security personnel who have surrounded this individual. they have now put the fire out, chris, as this man is just lying there, it seems having lit himself on fire in this very moment, and i want to reiterate to folks that are watching this, we don't know if this has any connection to what just took place in the courtroom behind us with this jury now being
connection between that individual and what is taking place in the courthouse behind us. if i get any information on that, i certainly will be relaying it to all of you. nonetheless, the individua has now been taken to a hospital. we don't necessarily know how he's doing, if in fact, he's going to survive his injuries, but igo will tell you, i mean, that fire, those flames reached about 20 feet in the air. it was a fairly large fire, this man setting himself on fire in the middle of the square just 50 feet away from where we are, chris. >>wh yeah, we did after he was removed briefly see the smoke and so you could see that it was indeed. let me just again give the context of the week or have you give thek context of the week. we have seen in the past and certainly some of the early y days, for example, for arraignments, large groups of people came out on both sides. there may have been some yelling back and forth or whatever, but through this week from what i've read and what i've heard you and others report, there have been
bench. he's, you know, talking to the lawyers, but he doesn't have the sort ofes easy access to a cler that he might have. and we don't know if he has his phone up d there. he's very focused. in fact, laser focused on the business of the court while he'r on the bench. we don't know what time he found out.im we had no inkling that he knew. >> while he doesn't have a law clerk adjacent to him, and apparently anywhere else in the courtroom, there is a courtroom deputy whose voice we occasionally hear as she calls out the names of prospective jurors or administers the other. she does have administrative help in the courtroom as well as a number of new york court security officers. in fact, chris, earlier today, one of the prospective jurors said that he had three friends who are court officers and the judge said where. he was clearly referring to the new york city court system, and he said,rk one of them, you kno is in the room right now, proving what a small world manhattan can be. but again, that levity that we felt earlier in the day,
around the courthouse, and only because it seems as if he has wanted to move this trial along, knowing how long it's going to take inside of an election year. we thought the jury selection would take two weeks, it's only taking four days of full court. we're going to have to wait until 3:15 to find out exactly what's going to happen. i'm sure there's a lot of conversations happening in the judge's chambers with regards to what will take place in the back half of today's court session. if, in fact, they do resume at 3:15, that means they're going to get into the sandoval hearing. the prosecution will talk about the evidence they will present, if, in fact, the former president decides to testify, the evidence they will present in their cross-examination, chris. >> jim, we have less than a minute, and we may get some answers at this press conference, but knowing what you know and having been involved with the atf for so long and the high profile of this, would you imagine if not increasing