FL Man Set Himself On Fire Outside Donald Trump’s NYC Trial

NEW YORK CITY — A Florida man and conspiracy theorist set himself on fire Friday afternoon outside the Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump is currently on trial.

Max Azzarello, 37, of St. Augustine, is in critical condition after his self-immolation outside of Trump's hush-money trial.

"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," the manifesto states.

Azzarello was standing in an area of a park outside the courthouse reserved for the former president’s supporters around 1:30 p.m. when he threw pamphlets into the air before dousing himself in alcohol-based cleaning fluid and setting himself on fire, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

Azzarello, who traveled to New York from Florida last week, was also seen outside the courthouse Thursday carrying a sign that displayed a website address for an online manifesto with the heading, "I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial," according to a reporter at the scene.

In these pamphlets, Azzarello called New York University a “mob front,” and also referred to former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Al Gore and the lawyer David Boies. Boies represented Gore in the 2000 presidential election recount. His pamphlets also featured various anti-government conspiracy theories.

"Almost like a conspiracy theory-type of pamphlet in regards to Ponzi scheme and the fact that some of our local education institutes are a front for the mob," Kenny said at a news conference.

A reporter at the scene posted that the pamphlet's linked to a Substack called "The Ponzi Papers."The Substack's writer identifies himself as Max Azzarello and contends to find proof of a vast conspiracy involving billionaire Peter Thiel, cryptocurrency, NYU and "The Simpsons."

"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," the post states.

A 2023 federal lawsuit, also filed by a Max Azzarello, contains similar accusations of a vast "Ponzi scheme." The lawsuit's dozens of defendants include the Clinton Foundation, Mark Zuckerberg, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the late Ross Perot.

The manifesto quickly spread online, as well as videos showing what appeared to be a man engulfed in flames.

The harrowing situation was reported in a live CNN broadcast Friday by Laura Coates, who said she could smell burning flesh.

"We are watching a man who is fully emblazoned outside the courthouse today," she said.

One video posted by NewsNation reporter Libbey Dean shows a bystander try, and fail, to smother the flames with a jacket. Another person finally runs up with a fire extinguisher.

"Is this really happening?" a bystander can be heard on the graphic video, which shows the man twitching.

Coates, in her live report, said the man remained on fire after bystanders tried to smother the flames with their jackets. She said someone eventually ran up with a fire extinguisher.

Politico reporter Emily Ngo tweeted that the man was responsive as medics moved him, but he was badly burned.

"Body charred," she wrote.

Medics took the man to a New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center burn unit, where he remained clinging to life in critical condition, police officials said.

NYPD officials said there weren't any additional safety concerns outside the courthouse.
The incident unfolded as a full jury of 12 New Yorkers and six alternates was seated in Trump's hush-money trial.

Patch Editor Matt Troutman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.