The man who set himself on fire outside the Donald Trump trial courthouse in Manhattan on Friday afternoon tossed “propaganda” pamphlets before the incident.
According to law enforcement, Maxwell Azzarello of Florida entered an open park outside the courthouse, and threw pamphlets throughout the park before he set himself on fire.
“The pamphlets seem to be propaganda-based, almost like a conspiracy theory type of pamphlet; some information in regards to Ponzi schemes and the fact that some of our local educational institutes are front for the mob. So, a little bit of a conspiracy theory going on here,” an official said at a news conference with law enforcement.
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.
The official added that police were going to go through all of the video, “but what we've seen so far today, it appears that he walked from Leonard Street, he entered the park, walked into the middle of the park, and committed the act.”
