Election Violence: Ohio Man Sets Himself On Fire After Ranting About Trump's Win

A man in Ohio set himself on fire after ranting about Donald Trump’s election win on Saturday, according to reports. The 69-year-old man was reportedly speaking out against Trump and calling for a protest on a city street in Akron before he went up in flames.

Witnesses told the Akron Beacon Journal the man was obviously upset. Following his outdoor rant, he reportedly entered a coffee shop and asked patrons if they knew anyone staging a protest against Trump, after which he went back outside and soaked himself in gasoline before setting himself on fire.

Police have yet to confirm the witnesses’ statement. However, one police report said the man handed his phone to a stranger passing him on the street and asked the man to record him before he set himself on fire. Akron Police Sgt. Dennis Woodall said the man was wearing a U.S. Marine Corps uniform. He is currently in stable condition at Akron Children’s Hospital Burn Center, according to reports.

Following Trump’s win, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline said it had received a wave of calls from people traumatized and so scared by the final election results that they were considering taking their own lives. The hotline reportedly rang 660 times between the hours of 1 and 2 a.m. on Nov. 9, which the service said was 2 1/2 times higher than the average call volume during those hours, according to a Washington Post report. Lifeline director John Drapper told the Post the organization didn’t see “numbers like this” following either of President Barak Obama’s election wins in 2008 or 2012.

Fears for the future have also taken precedence in the LGBTQ community, resulting in a higher number of calls to suicide prevention hotlines dedicated to LGBTQ youth like The Trevor Project. Steve Mendelsohn, spokesperson for The Trevor Project, told Time that the organization saw “more than double” the amount of calls following the election.

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