NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A man from Florida who threw pamphlets into the air before setting himself on fire in a park across from the New York County Criminal Court where former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial was taking place Friday afternoon has died of his injuries.
At about 1:30 p.m. at Collect Pond Park, a man walked into the park center and tossed numerous pamphlets around the space. He then removed a canister, doused himself in a liquid police believe to be an alcohol-based accelerant used for cleaning, and lit himself on fire, police said.
Civilians, court officers and members of the NYPD quickly ran into the park to attempt to put him out using coats and fire extinguishers before the FDNY responded about two minutes after receiving the call, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.
The man, identified by NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny as Max Azzarello, 37, was taken to NY Presbyterian-Cornell Burn Unit in critical condition. Officials confirmed his death early Saturday morning.
Three police officers and one court officer suffered minor injuries from their exposure to the fire. All four officers are stable, FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh said.
According to his driver’s license, Azzarello is from St. Augustine, Florida, and arrived in New York earlier in the week. His car was spotted in St. Augustine on April 13, so investigators said that he must have arrived in the city sometime between then and Friday.
Kenny said that detectives spoke with Azzarello’s family, and they were not aware that he was in New York.
“The pamphlets seem to be propaganda based, almost like a conspiracy theory type of pamphlet, some information in regards to ponzi schemes and the fact that some of our educational institutes are fronts for the mob,” Kenny said when asked about the papers.
Kenny said that Azzarello was not known to the NYPD before this incident, and his social media will be scrubbed as part of the investigation.
As of Friday afternoon, police did not find a criminal history for Azzarello in New York.
Authorities said that it did not appear Azzarello was targeting any particular person or group, and he is currently being described as a "conspiracy theorist."
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The fire was extinguished Friday shortly after a jury and alternates had been seated in Trump’s criminal case.
A full jury of 12 people and six alternates had been seated in the hush money case just minutes earlier, drawing the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president a step closer to opening statements.
The park where the fire happened has been a gathering point for protesters and media outlets covering jury selection for Trump's trial.
While the trial has already been considered a high-security event and involved communications between the NYPD, FDNY, EMS, secret service and court partners, officials said that security protocol for the trial will be reviewed.
NYPD Bomb Squad and K9 units were on the scene out of an abundance of caution, Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.