At around 1:30pm on Friday, April 19, a fire broke out near the New York City courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is currently underway. CNN’s Laura Coates reported that a man had lit himself on fire and that first responders rushed to the scene.
The man has since been identified as Maxwell Azzarello, a Florida resident in his 30s, and author behind a Substack manifesto listing a host of conspiracy-related reasons for the self-immolation, a reported by Newsweek.
The event occurred shortly after the jury for Trump’s trial was finalized, after which Azzarello reportedly walked into Collect Pond Park, just across the street from the courthouse, and lit himself ablaze after tossing a variety of flyers — some of them alleging that NYU was a corrupt mob front, among other such things as warnings against Ponzi schemes — into the air. Azzarello was also in possession of a sign alleging that Trump and President Joe Biden were collaborating on a “fascist coup,” and another advertising the aforementioned Substack.
“We are still smelling what is not only smoke, but human flesh as well,” Coates reported moments after the blaze began. She described the event as “disturbing,” particularly given that the voir dire process in Trump’s trial had only just finished. “History had just been made by a fully-empaneled jury,” Coates said, “and a group of people began to scream.” She went on to say that she and her colleague initially thought it was an active shooter situation until they realized that Azzarello had lit himself on fire. Not only was his body on fire, but the area around him quickly lit up as well.
Emergency workers acted quickly, rushing him away on a stretcher shortly after extinguishing the flames. Azzarello remains in critical condition.
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