Man sets himself on Fire!
New York, US, Apr 19 (EFE).-
A man set himself on fire on Friday in the park in front of the New York City courthouse where the hush money criminal case against former United States President Donald Trump (2017-2021) is being tried, but it is not clear if the incident was related to the trial.
At 1:30 pm local time, police told the media at a briefing, a man threw colorful flyers into the air and then doused himself with a liquid, apparently an alcohol-based cleaning agent, and set himself on fire.
“Civilians, court officers, members of the Police department run into the park, make efforts to put him out. They use their coats, they use fire extinguishers,” Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey told the press.
The NYPD said the man remains in a “very critical” condition and is intubated.
Four officers suffered minor injuries while helping to extinguish the fire.
The New York Police Department identified the man as 37-year-old Maxwell Azzarello of Florida and said he arrived in New York City earlier in the week.
An official at the briefing described the papers he threw into the park as “like some kind of conspiracy theory pamphlet.”
A version of said pamphlet circulating on social media describes conspiracy theories but mentions Trump only tangentially, saying “every election has been a sham” and accusing him of being “with” Hillary Clinton and “with” Joe Biden, while most of the pamphlet is about a global conspiracy related to cryptocurrencies by billionaires and elite higher education institutions.
A video circulating widely on social media shows several people watching in confusion as the man burns, apparently not understanding what is happening, then several police officers rush in, extinguish the flames and take him to a hospital.
ABC reported that at the time, Trump was in the courtroom where the jury that will determine guilt or innocence in the case of the irregular payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels had just been empaneled. EFE
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