Man tries to set himself on fire outside US Supreme Court, reports say

US Capitol Police say they were dealing with ‘medical emergency’

(Twitter/Chad Pergram)

A man tried to set himself on fire outside US Supreme Court and was evacuated to hospital by helicopter, officials say.

The medical helicopter landed on the steps of the US Capitol on Friday to deal with a “medical emergency”, according to US Capitol Police.

“A medical helicopter just landed near the Capitol for a medical emergency. This is not a public safety issue,” police said on Twitter.

“We just felt after this week the community needed to know why a helicopter was landing nearby,” a USCP spokesperson told Fox News.

Earlier this week the US Capitol was evacuated because of a plane transporting members of the US Army Golden Knights to parachute into Nationals Park on Military Appreciation Night.

The FAA admitted on Friday that it was to blame for that incident as it “did not provide advance notification of this event to the US Capitol Police.”

Chad Pergram, who covers Congress for the news network posted video of the helicopter landing on Twiter.

The condition of the person involved in the Supreme Court incident is not known, according to Fox News.