Anti-Trump Protester Sets Himself On Fire Outside Trump International Hotel In Washington D.C. [Video]


An anti-Trump protester set himself on fire outside Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. on Tuesday night. Staff inside the hotel reportedly called police and the fire department after the man set himself on fire shortly before 9:30 p.m.

The man reportedly surrendered to police. He suffered non-life threatening, third-degree burns, according to officers who took him to the hospital. Police authorities confirmed that they were called to the scene by persons reporting a man “in distress.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC5dYdyFYVE

Police also said they did not arrest the man, according to the Washington Post.

The man reportedly told police that he set himself on fire outside Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, as an act of protest against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. He claimed he was protesting because America has elected a man who is “incapable of respecting our constitution.”

Man set himself on fire outside the Trump International Hotel in Washington [Image by Mj007/Shutterstock]

The protester, a 45-year-old man from California, has not been identified by name. However, he told News4 (NBC4 Washington) that his action was in protest against President-elect Donald Trump.

“I tried to light myself on fire as an act of protest,” he told News4’s Shomari Stone. “(I’m protesting) the fact that we’ve elected somebody who is completely incapable of respecting the Constitution of the United States.”

Witnesses said that the man set himself on fire using a lighter and accelerant. The resulting blaze spread over his clothes and back rapidly, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear why he set himself on fire. However, as the flames spread over his body, he yelled “Trump” several times and lay down in the street, according to witnesses.

“He set himself on fire and as flames ran up his back he yelled Trump several times then lay down in the street.”

“(He) then walked over to the police” and gave himself up to the police, a witness said.

He reportedly suffered third-degree burns on about 10 percent of his body, the Washington Post reported. However, despite the burns on his back, he was able to walk unassisted after he surrendered to police.

No information was available about the man’s condition since after his arrest on Tuesday night, according to NBC Washington.

The incident happened after anti-Trump protesters held up rush-hour traffic in downtown Washington on Tuesday evening. The protesters later held an anti-Trump rally outside the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, near the White House and the U.S. Capitol.

Protester sets himself on fire outside Trump International Hotel in Washington [Image by Igor Stevanovic/Shutterstock]

The spot at which the man set himself on fire outside the Trump International Hotel is on the route that President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pass on his way to the White House on Friday for the inauguration ceremony.

And ahead of the inauguration, tens of thousands of anti-Trump protesters are flocking to Washington D.C.
Police have reportedly granted protest permits to more than 26 groups. The number, according to USA Today, is more than four times the average for past inaugurations.

It is expected that about 400,000 protesters will flood Washington D.C. during the inauguration. Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to march through the streets during the inauguration on Friday. A massive demonstration, Women’s March on Washington, involving more than 200,000, is expected to be held on Saturday.

The Women’s March on Washington is organized by a broad coalition of civil and human right groups.

Protesters reportedly marched outside Ivanka Trump’s home in Manhattan on Tuesday, shouting slogans and holding up protest signs. Bill de Blasio, New York City’s Mayor, has said he would participate in demonstrations outside Trump’s Manhattan hotel on January 19, the eve of the inauguration.

“I’m rallying at Trump Int’l Hotel at 6 p.m. on January 19 because our next president needs to hear from all NYers before he takes office. Join us,” de Blasio tweeted.

[Featured Image by Rena Schild/Shutterstock]

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