Law enforcement officials on Friday afternoon described the lead-up to a man setting himself on fire outside the Donald Trump trial courthouse in Manhattan.
“We observe a male walk into the park. He walks to the center of the park. When he's in the park, he starts shuffling around his clothes. He opens up a book bag. From the book bag, he takes numerous pieces of papers — pamphlets — out,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said during a news conference a few hours after the incident. “He throws the pamphlets throughout the park, and then he pulls out a canister and pours some kind of liquid on himself — a liquid we believe is an accelerant — and he lights himself on fire.
“The male, he takes a couple of steps while he's on fire, and then eventually he falls onto a police barrier and falls down to the ground. He's on fire; another area in the park where some of the accelerant spilt is also on fire. Civilians, court officers, members of the police department, they run into the park, they make efforts to put him out. They use their coats, they use fire extinguishers. Eventually, FDNY responds. We're able to … extinguish the fire.”
The man, identified as Maxwell Azzarello of Florida, was transported to a local hospital and was badly burned, according to Maddrey.
Law enforcement is investigating Azzarello’s motives, but he posted a manifesto describing himself as an “investigative researcher.” Officials, who described him as a conspiracy theorist, said he appeared to act alone, and before he set himself on fire he tossed “propaganda” about “Ponzi schemes” claiming “local educational institutes are a front for the mob.”
