Laura Coates became the textbook example of journalistic poise when she stood outside a New York City courthouse where former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial was being held and told CNN viewers what she was witnessing: a man in flames.
Around 1:30 p.m. on Friday a man identified as Maxwell Azzarello of St. Augustine, Fla., threw several pamphlets in the air, doused himself with liquid accelerant and lit himself on fire in Collect Pond Park. He later died.
Coates was standing several feet away at the time, interviewing a jury consultant.
As police and paramedics rushed to the scene, as some people screamed and others stood in stunned silence, Coates launched seamlessly into a narration of the horror, her authoritative cadence never faltering.
“We have seen an arm that has been visible that has been engulfed in total flames,” she said, two fingers on an earpiece that connected her to CNN’s control room. “We are watching multiple fires breaking out around his body and person.”
The camera panned between her and the flames before finally locking on Coates. “I can smell the burning of some sort of flesh,” she said.
And when it was all over: “What an emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment here in Manhattan.”
Clips of the two-minute monologue went viral online. Margaret Chadbourn, a political reporter for Spectrum News, said on X that Coates gave “a master class in live reporting.” Podcaster Adeea Rogers said her coverage was “the difference between true and actual journalism and just being a media personality.”
Coates’s career history is unusual for an anchor. A Minnesota native, she was a private practice attorney handling intellectual property and defamation cases before she moved to the Justice Department in 2008 as a federal prosecutor. According to her website, she also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in D.C., where she prosecuted cases involving drug trafficking, domestic violence and child abuse. She would later compare her coverage of the burning man to witnesses who described “truly horrific details” in her trials.
She joined CNN as a senior legal analyst in 2016, after regular television and radio appearances. TMZ reported that “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek was so impressed by Coates that he recommended the show hire her as his replacement.
Coates became known to many viewers for her sharp political and legal commentary. She led coverage during Derek Chauvin’s murder trial for the death of George Floyd. In 2022, she blasted Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on air for her questioning of a Black judicial nominee. “She should be embarrassed,” Coates said.
She also shared personal stories, such as her experience of nearly dying after giving birth to her son, and entering menopause early after having her daughter.
She filled in for network star Don Lemon before he left the network, and was promoted to an interim anchor position after Chris Cuomo was fired in 2021. When CNN dropped Coates as a solo anchor last year, Business Insider reported, some employees were outraged that one of the network’s few prominent Black faces was being sidelined.
A few months later, the network announced Coates would be hosting her own 11 p.m. show, “Laura Coates Live,” which premiered in October. She also hosts a daily radio show called “The Laura Coates Show” on SiriusXM.
At the anchor desk during her CNN show Friday night, Coates reflected on the blaze, which she initially thought was an active shooter situation.
“My instincts told me to tell you what I was seeing. My mouth narrated my eyes,” she said. “But my eyes. I wish I could unsee it. My nose wishes to unsmell it. My heart breaks for that man and his family.”
“I feel so conflicted about turning back to a trial after what we saw,” Coates said as she prepared to move the discussion back to Trump. “But today we did. And we are. So let’s take it from the top.”
