AgenPress – A man set himself on fire Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s historic secret trial was taking place.
A witness at the scene said he first heard the man throwing brochures in the air, then saw him douse himself from a can and set himself on fire.
The man, Maxwell Azzarello, was severely burned and taken to a hospital in critical condition, officials said.
The NYPD said there is no threat to public safety, but the NYPD bomb squad is searching the area out of an abundance of caution.
Azzarello pulled pamphlets from his backpack and threw them around the park before pulling out a canister, pouring liquid on himself and setting himself on fire, NYPD Chief of Police Jeffrey Maddrey said at a news conference. .
It eventually fell to the ground and civilians, police and court officials ran into the park to try to put out the fire.
The pamphlets appeared to be “propaganda-based,” officials said. Azzarello appeared not to be targeting any particular person or group, officials said, describing him as a “conspiracy theorist.”
Azzarello is from St. Augustine, Florida, and arrived in New York earlier in the week, officials said. He appears to have acted alone, officials said.
“We are very concerned,” Maddrey said. The NYPD will review security protocol due to the “severity of the ongoing event,” referring to the Trump trial.
Trump is facing felony charges related to a 2016 cash payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It is the first time in history that a former president of the United States has been tried on criminal charges.
Tags: York Man sets fire front courthouse Trumps trial place Police conspiracy theorist
