In New York City on April 19th, around 1 p.m., a man set himself on fire outside the Manhattan Criminal Court at 100 Central Street. Fortunately, he did not die from the incident. It is currently unclear whether this event is related to any case involving Trump.
According to a press conference held by the New York Police Department at around 3 p.m. on the scene, at 1:30 p.m., in the barricaded Collect Pond Park across from the Manhattan Criminal Court building, a man was engulfed in flames. He first took out many paper booklets, then pulled out a container, believed to be a flammable liquid accelerant, and proceeded to set himself on fire. After taking a few steps, he collapsed to the ground.
People in the park rushed out and grabbed patrolling police officers, who quickly rushed into the park. They used their jackets to put out the flames on the man, and then firefighters arrived with extinguishers to douse the flames. The authorities then rushed the man to the New York Presbyterian-Cornell Hospital.
The man is currently still alive but in critical condition, undergoing treatment at the burn center.
The police identified the self-immolating man as Maxwell Azzarello, a 1987-born individual from St. Augustine, Florida. He had arrived in New York City earlier this week without his family’s knowledge.
According to flyers found at the scene obtained by the New York Post, one of them was titled, “I Self-Immolated Outside Trump Trial.” It contained a declaration of over 2,000 words where the man stated that his self-immolation was an “extreme protest” against “authoritarian deception” and the impending “world’s end fascist coup.”
Our reporter arrived at the scene at 3 p.m. and found the park sealed off by the police, with onlookers unable to get close. When asked, those in the park mentioned that it was still unclear whether the incident was related to any case involving Trump.