A man has died after setting himself on fire outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial, according to police. 

US media has reported from police that Maxwell Azzarello was declared dead in hospital. 

Mr Azzarello, originally from Florida, set himself on fire in a designated protest area for pro and anti-Trump demonstrators on Friday. 

He threw pamphlets in the air before taking a canister out of his bag, dousing himself in fluid and setting himself ablaze. 

Officers and civilians ran into the protest area and tried to put out the flames using coats and fire extinguishers. 

NYPD at the scene where a man set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial, 19/04/2024. Image: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Azzrello set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse where Mr Trump is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. 

If convicted, Mr Trump - the presumptive Republican presidential nominee - would become the first former US president convicted of a crime. 

He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.