The man who burned himself to death yesterday in front of the Manhattan courthouse while the selection of the twelve jurors who will be in charge of ruling on the innocence or guilt of the former US president was being carried out, has died in the hospital, Donald Trump, who was in the room.
During the deadly protest, the man, 37, had thrown leaflets into the air that made references to “evil billionaires” and then doused himself with a liquid, believed to be gasoline, which he set on fire. Police tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. The man burned for several minutes in view of television cameras installed in front of the court, where the first criminal trial against a former president of the United States is taking place.
New York police said the man, whom they identified as Max Azzarello of St. Augustine, Florida, did not appear to be targeting Trump or other people involved in the trial. “Right now we’re labeling him as some sort of conspiracy theorist, and we’ll go from there,” Tarik Sheppard, deputy police commissioner, said at a news conference.
In a manifesto on social media, a man using the same name had stated that he set himself on fire and apologized to friends, witnesses and first responders. The publication warns of “an apocalyptic fascist coup” and criticizes cryptocurrencies and American politicians, but does not single out Trump in particular.
The fire could also be seen from the court where former President Trump was being tried; several witnesses testified that they had seen a charred man. Although the man was rushed to the hospital minutes later and was alive for hours in critical condition, he died this morning.
