A man who set himself on fire outside the New York courthouse where former US President Donald Trump is on trial has died, Sky’s US partner NBC News has said.
Maxwell Azzarello was “declared deceased by hospital staff”, police told NBC News in a phone call early on Saturday, local time.
No specific time of death was given.
Mr Azzarello, in his mid-30s, from St Augustine in Florida, threw conspiracy theory pamphlets in the air before setting himself alight in a designated protest area for pro and anti-Trump demonstrators on Friday.
He took a canister out of his bag containing what is believed to have been an alcohol-based accelerant, before dousing himself in the fluid and setting himself ablaze, police said.
Officers and civilians ran into the protest area and tried to put out the flames using coats and fire extinguishers.
Four NYPD police officers suffered minor injuries from fire exposure, authorities said.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters: “The pamphlets appear to be propaganda-based, almost a conspiracy theory type of pamphlet. Some information in regards to a Ponzi scheme and the fact that some of our local educational institutes are fronts for the mob. So, a little bit of a conspiracy theory going on here.”
The blaze broke out after jury selection for Trump’s hush money trial concluded with 12 people, and six alternatives, chosen to decide whether the former US president covered up payments to women who alleged they had affairs with him.
The Trump campaign released a statement on Friday afternoon offering its “condolences to the traumatised witnesses” after the blaze.
Speaking before Mr Azzarello died, Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national secretary, said: “Not knowing the motivations behind this sickening situation, it’s difficult to make any definitive remarks, other than to say we are thankful that to the best of our present knowledge, nobody other than the individual in question was hurt.”
Video shared on social media shows Mr Azzarello lying on his back on the pavement outside the courthouse while the lower part of his body is on fire.
Another man sprays him with a fire extinguisher which appears to put the fire out.
Police officers are seen running over to the scene as the fire is extinguished.
Ed Quinn, a freelance photojournalist who was outside the court at the time, told NBC News: “I heard someone scream ‘He’s going to light himself on fire!’.’
“I see him dumping gasoline on his face, very deliberately.
“He had a grey T-shirt on. It soaked his face. It soaked his shirt. Boom, he went up.”
Mr Quinn said it took the police about a minute to arrive.
He continued: “Women were begging, screaming, put it out, put him out.”
Historic trial to start Monday despite Trump’s objections
The historic case, the first criminal trial of a former US president, is due to start on Monday after the jury members were decided on Friday.
A last-minute bid by Mr Trump to halt the trial over his claims that the jury selection process was unfairly rushed, was rejected by an appeals court judge.
Azzarello had no specific target – police
Mr Kenny said Azzarello was born in 1987 and arrived in New York City earlier in the week.
He said police were in contact with members of his family after the incident but they were unaware that he was in the city.
Police said they don’t believe Azzarello was targeting any particular person or group.
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Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
