New York law enforcement and fire department personnel inspect the scene where a man lit himself on fire in a park outside Manhattan criminal court, on April 19, 2024, in New York.
| Photo Credit: AP

A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.

The New York City Police Department said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital.

The man was in Collect Pond Park around 1:30 p.m. Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said.

A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed to the aid of the man, who was hospitalised in critical condition.

The man, who police said had travelled from Florida to New York in the last few days, hadn’t breached any security checkpoints to get into the park.

The park outside the courthouse has been a gathering spot for protesters, journalists and gawkers throughout Trump’s trial, which began with jury selection Monday.

Through Friday, the streets and sidewalks in the area around the courthouse were generally wide open and crowds have been small and largely orderly.

Authorities said they were also reviewing the security protocols, including whether to restrict access to the park. The side street where Trump enters and leaves the building is off limits.

“We may have to shut this area down,” New York City Police Department Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said at a news conference outside the courthouse, adding that officials would discuss the security plan soon.

The man who set himself on fire outside the New York court where Donald Trump’s hush money trial was set to begin on Friday, threw a stack of pamphlets in the air containing conspiracy theories, before immolating himself.

The man, identified as Max Azzarello, who had travelled to New York from Florida, is alive but in a critical condition.

“(They were) 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 a front for the mob,” senior police officer Joseph Kenny said.

The pamphlets contain link to a newsletter titled “The Ponzi Papers” where Mr Azzarello shared several theories linking crypto billionaires, former US president Bill Clinton, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Hollywood actor Rob Lowe to an “apocalyptic fascist world coup”.

“I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial,” read the title of the over 2,600 word manifesto outlining the self-described investigative researcher’s multiple theories.

“My name is Max Azzarello, and I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan. This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery: We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup,” it reads.

The manifesto also includes photos of printed pamphlets containing similar theories including titles like “The True History of the World (Haunted Carnival Edition)”, “NYU is a Mob Front” and “D—–t Secrets of our Rotten World”.

Days before the self-immolation, Mr Azzarello was pictured holding a sign while protesting outside the same courthouse which read “Trump is with Biden and they’re about to fascist coup us.” After the news of the act, several videos of Mr Azzarello reading out parts of his manifesto as well as singing and calling on viewers to start a revolution have gone viral.

A photo of a younger, smiling Azzarello with Bill Clinton has also surfaced on social media. Mr Clinton is one of the 100 influential people Mr Azzarello sued in a conspiracy theory filled case that was tossed out by the court last year.

Police said they have “labelled him a sort of conspiracy theorist” and investigating the incident. “His condition is not good, but as of now he is still alive,” they added.

Gonda, UP:

A 25-five-year-old man, who set himself afire outside a bank here allegedly after being denied a loan, succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Lucknow on Thursday, according to officials.

Divyaraj Pandey, who immolated himself on Wednesday, was brought to Lucknow’s King George Medical College in very critical condition with more than 90 per cent burn injuries, said Dr Sandeep, the trauma centre in-charge.

The local administration deployed a police team to maintain law and order at his Sarhara Pandeypurwa village in the Itiyathok area after his death. Senior district officials also visited the family and assured them of all possible assistance.

Pandey immolated himself using petrol from his motorcycle in front of the SBI bank in front of Kotwali on Wednesday, police said, adding his friend Pradeep too sustained burn injuries and has been hospitalised.

Pandey’s family said he got married in 2021 and became father of a baby boy six months ago.

A family member said Pandey had a diploma from the ITI and wanted to start a bottling plant for which he sought a loan from the bank.

“He wanted to do some work, but I don’t know about the loan. He never told me anything,” father Munna Lal Pandey, who is a teacher at a private school, told PTI.

Pandey’s family members alleged that he took the drastic step because the bank officials were not sanctioning his loan.

SBI Regional Manager Gyan Prakash denied the allegations levelled by Pandey’s family.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Prakash said an unknown person tried to do an “illegal act” in front of the bank. “No matter related to his loan was with the bank,” he added.

District Magistrate Neha Sharma has ordered a magisterial probe by city magistrate Chandrashekhar, officials said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)