A shocking event occurred today as a man set himself on fire in a park located across the street from the downtown Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump is currently on trial.
Trump was reportedly inside the courthouse at the time of the incident.
The man, identified as Maxwell Azzarello, was taken to a local area hospital suffering from very serious burns and is currently listed in critical condition, according to officials.
Azzarello is said to have been throwing “propaganda-related” pamphlets around the park prior to dousing himself with a canister of Accelerant in lighting himself on fire, police say. After burning intensely for a short period of time he fell to the ground, at which time police and onlookers extinguished the blaze.
Officials say that Azzarello – who is from St. Augustine, Florida and arrived in New York earlier this week – didn’t appear to be targeting any particular group with his act, and is being described as a “conspiracy theorist.”
Police say there are no ongoing threats to the public in connection with the incident; nonetheless, the NYPD’s Bomb Squad ran a full sweep of the park just to be sure.
Trump is currently on trial – the first time in U.S. history for a former president – related to felony charges stemming from alleged hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.
