By Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News (TNS)
A report stated that a Florida man lit himself on fire at Collect Pond Park across from Manhattan Criminal Court during Donald Trump’s hush money trial.
Officers and police raced over to extinguish the fire in the park at about 1:30 p.m.
Fred Gates, a witness, said he was about 20 to 30 feet away and started yelling when he saw the fire.
Gates added, “I never saw anything like this.”
Authorities identified the man as Max Azzarello of St. Augustine, Florida. He is in critical condition at New York Presbyterian-Cornell Hospital.
Azzarello, described as a “conspiracy theorist,” posted a manifesto just before setting himself on fire.
In his manifesto, he wrote that he set himself on fire as an extreme act of protest to draw attention to what he believes is a totalitarian conspiracy.
The man, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, had signs and was handing out fliers before setting the fire.
Politico reporter Emily Ngo described it as a “very scary, active scene.”
The flames reached about 8 feet high as firefighters and other first responders put out the blaze, images show.
Ngo said that he was responsive when removed but is badly burned.
A 73-year-old man witnessed the aftermath of the fire.
“The papers were kind of stiff. That drew my attention,” the man, who identified himself as Dave, said. “I saw him take out a can of liquid and put it over his head.
Dave recounted the man dousing himself before lighting the fire.
It took first responders a while to put out the blaze, according to Dave.
“He was fully aflame,” he said.
The self-immolation happened as prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys finished selecting the final alternate jurors for the hush money trial.
Court officials mentioned that no one in the courtroom knew about the incident until a short break was taken.
Gates said the man was calm as he took two gas cans out of his backpack.
“(He) placed them on the ground gently and calmly,” Gates remembered. “Then he took a bunch of leaflets from his bag, threw them into the air, and then he picked up a container and poured it on himself. After that, he took another container and poured the rest on himself. By that time, I was running.”
The man lit himself on fire while reporters gathered in the park, waiting for an update from inside the court.
Azzarello was still in critical condition on Friday afternoon. A court officer was also taken to the hospital after getting injured while trying to extinguish the fire.
An investigation into the incident was still ongoing on Friday.
The manifesto that was published online, and is connected to a QR code on one of the leaflets, discussed Ponzi schemes, bank failures, the rise of cryptocurrency, the TV show “The Simpsons” and Harvard University, which he referred to as “one of the largest organized crime fronts in history.”
“To my friends and family, witnesses and first responders, I deeply apologize for causing you this pain,” Azzarello wrote regarding his alleged self-immolation. “But I assure you it is a small part of what our government plans to inflict.”
Despite this terrible development, the trial was still ongoing on Friday, according to Al Baker, a spokesman for New York State Courts.
“The entire court is affected by this. The court officers hurried to assist the man. Everyone who works in this building every day feels for this incident. The judge himself has expressed concern for him, but in terms of the timing, and the process, that remains unchanged, the court proceedings will continue.”
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