Man Dies After Setting Himself on Fire Outside Trump Trial

A man who set himself on fire on Friday outside the courthouse where Donald Trump's hush money trial is taking place has died, police said.

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man, who was identified as Maxwell Azzarello from Florida, was declared dead by staff at a hospital in the area, according to NBC News.

Azzarello was seen entering Collect Pond Park in Manhattan around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, before taking out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories and tossing them around. He subsequently doused himself with an accelerant and set himself on fire.

The man burned for several minutes in front of television cameras set up outside the courthouse, where the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president is taking place.

The NYPD said Azzarello was later transported to the burns unit at Weill Cornell Medical Center in a critical condition.

Describing the incident, Jeffrey B. Maddrey, the chief of the NYPD, said: "We observe a male walk into the park... when he's in the park, he starts shuffling around his clothes, he opens up a book bag. From the book bag, he takes numerous pieces of paper, pamphlets out. He throws the pamphlets throughout the park, and then he pulls out a cannister and pours some kind of liquid on himself, a liquid we believe is an accelerant and he lights himself on fire.

"The male takes a couple of steps while he is on fire and then eventually he falls onto a police barrier and falls down to the ground," Maddrey added.

He said that police officers, court employees and members of the public attempted to put out the flames using coats and fire extinguishers. Maddrey added that Azzarello did not breach any security checkpoints as the park, which has become a gathering point for protesters, was open to the public.

Authorities said they were reviewing security protocols around the courthouse and whether to restrict access to the park. "We may have to shut this area down," said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry on Friday.

Meanwhile, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that Azzarello was born in 1987 and his driver's license indicated that he was from St. Augustine, Florida.

He added that Azzarello was believed to have traveled to New York some time earlier this week, and that his family members had been unaware of his whereabouts.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI) told Newsweek: "On Friday, April 19, 2024 at approximately 13.39 hours, police responded to a 911 call for an aided person, in the vicinity of Leonard and Centre Streets, within the confines of the 5th Precinct. When police arrived, they observed a male engulfed in flames. NYPD Officers and FDNY personnel responded and the fire was extinguished. The aided 37-year-old male was transported by EMS to NY Presbyterian-Cornell hospital in critical condition. The investigation remains ongoing."