Trump International Hotel, Washington DC
Members of the US military stand in front of the Trump International Hotel Pennsylvania Ave. during an inaugural parade rehearsal on 15 January 2017 in Washington, DC Mark Wilson/Getty Images

A man has suffered burns after trying to start a fire outside the Trump Hotel in Washington DC on Tuesday (17 January) night. The reason for the fire and whether the man was attempting to self immolate are as yet unknown, although the hotel has been a spot for protests over the last few days.

The local fire department said that an ambulance was sent to the incident at 9:23pm EST (2:23am GMT) and the man was taken to hospital.

Trump Hotel has garnered the ire of anti-Trump demonstrators in the days leading up to the Republican's inauguration. The hotel itself was also the subject of conflict of interest issues when it was found that Trump may breach the hotel's lease the moment he takes office.

Activist group, Refuse Fascism had been marching to the Trump Hotel to "shut it down" on a nightly basis this week – with another march scheduled for Tuesday evening, though when asked by IBTimes UK whether the march was linked to the burned man a spokesperson replied: "No it was not."

On Monday (16 January) night, IBTimes UK spent time with DC activists who were preparing to disrupt Trump's inauguration and others who were already protesting. One member of Refuse Fascism told us that though they marched on Trump Hotel to shut it down, when they approach, the hotel "kind of shuts itself down".