Update: 20/04/2024 09:56
Issued by: 20/04/2024, 09:31
New York – The man who set himself on fire Friday outside the New York courthouse where the trial of former President Donald Trump is taking place has died. NBC News reported about it. Police said Friday that the man may have been motivated by conspiracy theories.
The NYPD said the man, identified as Maxwell Azzarello of Florida, was pronounced dead by doctors at the hospital where he was taken. Police did not release a time of death, according to NBC.
Azzarello set himself on fire in a park near the courthouse, an area set aside for potential demonstrations. According to witnesses, including journalists at the scene, the man burned for several minutes before passers-by, police officers and court officials extinguished the flames. He was subsequently hospitalized in critical condition.
The man threw leaflets around before setting himself on fire. According to photos from the place, some were titled “The True History of the World”. At Friday’s press conference, the police expressed their belief that the person in question did not want to harm any specific person or groups.
The information about the man on fire was released almost at the same time that the 12-member jury and six alternates were finalized in the courtroom in the Trump trial. Trump faces charges of falsifying financial records. He allegedly committed this in an attempt to hide payments to porn actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, before the 2016 presidential election, who he allegedly wanted to use money to convince her to keep quiet about their 2006 affair. The former president, who is seeking re-election in this year’s presidential election, denies the accusation.
