A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital.
The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed to the aid of the man, who was hospitalized in critical condition.
The man, who police said had traveled from Florida to New York in the past few days, had not breached any security checkpoints to get into the park.
The park outside the courthouse has been a gathering spot for protesters, journalists and gawkers throughout Trump’s trial, which began with jury selection on Monday.
Photo: Reuters
Police named the man as Maxwell Azzarello from St Augustine, Florida, and said the pamphlets he sought to disseminate “seem to be propaganda-based.”
They were “almost like a conspiracy theory type of pamphlet, some information in regards to Ponzi schemes, and the fact that some of our local educational institutes are a front for the mob,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters earlier.
Burning clothes were strewn in the park, which was locked down by authorities, while ambulances lined up nearby on standby, a witness at the scene reported, describing a strong smell of burning chemicals.
New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said four officers were lightly injured in the incident.
Video seemingly taken by witnesses and posted on social media showed a person standing engulfed in flames, then falling to the ground as police officers, including one with a fire extinguisher, rushed to beat out the blaze.
Authorities said they were reviewing the security protocols, including whether to restrict access to the park. The side street where Trump enters and leaves the building is off limits.
“We may have to shut this area down,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry told a news conference outside the courthouse, adding that officials would discuss the security plan soon.
CNN, Fox News and MSNBC were all on the air with reporters talking about the seating of a jury when the incident happened and other news agencies, including The Associated Press, were livestreaming from outside the courthouse.
CNN anchor Laura Coates, who at first incorrectly said it was a shooting situation, narrated as the man was visible onscreen, enveloped in flames.
“You can smell burning flesh,” she said as she stood at the scene with reporter Evan Perez.
Coates later said she could not “overstate the emotional response of watching a human being engulfed in flames and to watch his body be lifted into a gurney.”
She described it as an “emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment here.”
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