A man who set himself ablaze outside a court in New York City where former US president Donald Trump was standing trial on Friday has died of his injuries early Saturday.

The deceased was identified by the police as Maxwell Azzarello hailing from St Augustine in Florida.

Witnesses saw him throwing pamphlets into the air just before dousing himself with an unspecified liquid and setting himself on fire in a park near the courthouse.

The man was rushed to the hospital but a spokesman for the New York Police Department confirmed to the journalists that the man had died, however, they did not offer further details.

Hearings in the Trump case resumed after lunch despite the incident.