2024-04-20 18:06:55
CTK
Updated 10 hours ago
The young man who set himself on fire on Friday in front of the New York courthouse where the trial of former US President Donald Trump is taking place, died on Saturday. According to the police, his act may have been motivated by conspiracy theories and was not directed against any specific person or groups. Before he set himself on fire, he scattered leaflets around him, according to photographs from the scene, some were titled “The True History of the World”.
The information about the man on fire was released almost at the same time that the selection of the 12-member jury and six alternates was completed. According to police, the man’s name is Maxwell Azzarello, he was born in 1987 and is from Florida. The family did not know about his trip to New York.
Images of a burning figure in the park outside the courthouse are circulating on social media. The AP agency wrote that the burning person fell to the ground, after which the flames were extinguished with a fire extinguisher. The rescuers then carried the burned person away on a stretcher.
According to the BBC news site, a young man doused himself with flammable liquid on the spot and then set himself on fire. Someone shouted at him “Don’t do it!”, many witnesses started shouting, among other things, for someone to get a fire extinguisher. Shortly before setting himself on fire, the man was throwing leaflets around him. According to The New York Times, the leaflets were apparently also published on the Internet before the incident and contained anti-government conspiracy theories and criticism of New York University.
According to photos from the place, some were titled “The True History of the World”. Authorities are looking into his social media posts and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
According to CNN, the man was on fire for more than three minutes. “I see a completely burnt person,” said one of them during the live broadcast. Witnesses at the scene also said that the person was on fire for several minutes. Many police officers arrived at the scene, but according to the police, there is no further danger at this time.
Photo: Reuters
A Manhattan resident told the BBC that the man who set himself on fire had been in court for a week with a banner. Another witness, an elderly man, described the incident as a bad dream. “I never wanted to witness something like this. It will haunt me in my nightmares,” he said. When asked if anyone tried to help the man, he replied ‘what are you supposed to do’. “He was all on fire and seemed determined,” he added.
The park where the man set himself on fire was searched by pyrotechnicians and no explosive device was found. Police also said they had properly prepared for Trump’s trial and had detailed security plans in place, coordinating with fire and emergency services.
The police intervened on the scene two minutes after the incident was reported. At the same time, she said that no one expected that the man would catch fire and that a fire extinguisher would be needed at the scene. It said it will review its security plans and make changes if necessary, but at this point it believes it responded appropriately.
According to the BBC, Trump left the courthouse after a brief conversation with members of the Secret Service who protect him, ignoring questions from reporters.
The indictment against him is related to events from his first campaign in 2016, when his lawyer paid $130,000 (over three million CZK) to porn actress Stephanie Clifford in an attempt to cover up her claim that she had an affair with Trump about ten years earlier. According to prosecutors, Trump falsified dozens of financial records when he returned the money to his lawyer after he was elected. At the same time, the indictment claims that this could cover up violations of campaign financing rules and presents everything as part of a broader effort to influence public opinion before the elections.
It is not only the first hearing of the indictment against the former head of state, but also the trial of a presidential candidate during the election campaign. Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential candidate in the fall presidential election.