Police Says Man Who Set Self On Fire Outside Donald Trump’s Trial Courthouse Dies
Police in Manhattan area in New York, United States of America, said, Maxwell Azzarello has died after he set himself on fire outside the Manhattan court where former President Donald Trump is being tried for alleged criminal case on Friday.
New York police said on Saturday that the man died in the hospital on Saturday morning.
It was gathered that Maxwell Azzarello suffered severe burns sustained after self-immolating on April 19 outside the courtroom where Trump’s trial on hush money charges is taking place.
Maxwell Azzarello, 37, was reportedly arrested three times in St. Augustine in 2023 within five days. He also released a manifesto via Substack and emails to news outlets, according to local media.
BBC reported that; “Maxwell Azzarello, 37, doused himself in a liquid before throwing conspiracy-theory pamphlets into the air.
It happened as the jury selection for Mr Trump’s trial was completed.
He was taken to hospital on Friday in critical condition, where he later died, CBS News – the BBC’s US partner – confirmed.
New York City police said early on Saturday that Mr Azzarello was declared dead by hospital staff, NBC reported.
Court security had not been breached in Friday’s incident, emergency officials said. The case, which had just completed alternate jury selection, resumed later in the afternoon. Opening statements are expected to begin on Monday.
Investigators said they had received a 911 emergency call at around 13:30 local time (18:30 BST) telling them that a man had lit himself on fire.
They identified him as Maxwell Azzarello, 37, who had arrived in New York from his home in Florida sometime in the past week. He had no criminal record in New York, and his family in Florida were unaware that he had travelled to the city.
New York Police Chief, Jeffrey Maddrey said Mr Azzarello was seen “shuffling around” in the park before reaching into a bag for the flammable liquid and pamphlets”.
We had earlier reported that A man outside Manhattan court where former President of United States of America, Donald Trump is facing trial for alleged criminal offence, on Friday set himself on fire.
The motive behind the man’s action is yet to be known as he was rushed to the hospital after police sprayed fire extinguisher to put off the fire and the area surrounded with tapes.
This occurred as 12 Jurors and 6 alternates were empaneled to consider evidence o determine if Donald rump is guilty of the criminal allegations files against him.
According to Reuters; “A witness on the scene said he first heard the man throwing pamphlets into the air, then saw him douse himself from a can and light himself on fire. “At that point, I said, ‘Oh shoot, what am I going to see?'” the witness told Reuters.
“I see a totally charred human being,” a CNN reporter said on the air.
A New York emergency official said a person was taken away on a stretcher after apparently setting self on fire. A reason for the incident was not known.
Other witnesses said the man appeared to be calm before he doused himself with liquid.
“It’s hard to even process in your brain,” another witness, who declined to give his name, told Reuters.
The witness, who called himself Dave and declined to give his last name, said the man burned for several minutes.
A smell of smoke lingered in the plaza shortly after the incident, according to a Reuters witness, and a police officer sprayed a fire extinguisher on the ground. A smoldering backpack and a gas can were visible.
Police quickly taped off the scene of the incident. Nearby, a pamphlet was visible that referred to “evil billionaires” and called on people to “expose this corruption.” The portion that was visible to a Reuters witness did not mention Trump”.
The man has been identified as Max Azzarello and he reportedly said thus below in pamphlets titled “The True History of the World” he distributed:
“My name is Max Azzarello, and I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan,” his manifesto read.
“This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery: We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup.”
“We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup.”
“These claims sound like fantastical conspiracy theory, but they are not. They are proof of conspiracy. If you investigate this mountain of research, you will prove them too. If you learn a great deal about Ponzi schemes, you will discover that our life is a lie.”
“If you follow this story and the links below, you will discover the rotten truth of ‘post-truth America’. You will learn the scariest and stupidest story in world history. And you will realize that we are all in a desperate state of emergency that requires your action.”
“To my friends and family, witnesses and first responders, I deeply apologize for inflicting this pain upon you. But I assure you it is a drop in the bucket compared to what our government intends to inflict.”
“Because these words are true, this is an act of revolution.”
Meanwhile, the jurors selected consists of seven men and five women, mostly employed in white-collar professions: two corporate lawyers, a software engineer, a speech therapist and an English teacher. Most are not native New Yorkers, hailing from across the United States and countries like Ireland and Lebanon.
Trump is facing the court trial after he was accused of covering up a $130,000 payment his former lawyer, Michael Cohen made to porn star, Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says they had a decade earlier.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records brought instituted by Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney.
Trump also denied having such encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
It would be recalled that Trump had pleaded not guilty in three other criminal cases but the hush money allegation seems to be the only one certain to go to trial.
A conviction would not bar him from office, according to legal observers.
His attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair.
Last week, former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer, Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months imprisonment after pleading guilty in March to perjury charges.
He admitted to lying to investigators and a judge about Trump’s finances.
Judge Laurie Peterson handed down the sentence at a hearing in Manhattan criminal court.
Weisselberg was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Discover more from OsazuwaAkonedo
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.