Outside the Trump trial court in New York, a man sets himself on fire

As jury selection was coming to an end on Friday, a man lit himself on fire outside the New York courtroom hosting Donald Trump’s historic hush-money trial. However, authorities claimed the guy did not seem to be targeting Trump.

Television cameras were positioned outside the courthouse, where the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former US president is taking place, and the guy burned for many minutes.

One witness told reporters, “He was on fire for quite a while,” though he would not provide his identity. “It was pretty horrifying.”

The man, who is in his late 30s, was reportedly critically ill at a hospital but had survived, according to officials.

The man, according to witnesses, took leaflets out of a rucksack and tossed them into the air before dousing himself with a liquid and setting himself on fire. “Evil billionaires” were mentioned in one of those leaflets, but none of the passages that a Reuters witness could see mentioned Trump.

The guy, identified by the New York Police Department as Max Azzarello of St. Augustine, Florida, did not seem to be aiming his gun toward Trump or any of the other defendants in the case.

“At this point, we are classifying him as a conspiracy theorist, and we will proceed accordingly,” Tarik Sheppard, a deputy commissioner of the Police Department, stated during a press briefing.

A guy going by that name claimed in an online manifesto that he burned himself alive and expressed regret to friends, witnesses, and emergency personnel. The message slams US politicians and cryptocurrencies while threatening “an apocalyptic fascist coup”; it does not specifically mention Trump.

A Reuters witness claimed that soon after the event, there was still a smoke odor in the plaza, and a policeman doused the ground with a fire extinguisher. There was a gas can visible, and a bag that was on fire.

On Monday, the first day of the trial, the highly police-guarded courthouse in central Manhattan was packed with protestors and spectators; but, since then, the number of people attending has decreased.

Selection of the jury is complete.

The startling revelation happened just after the trial’s jury selection was finished, paving the way for Monday’s opening remarks from the prosecution and defense in a case involving hush money given to a porn actress. Later that afternoon, the court adjourned.

In a first-ever trial, 12 jurors and 6 alternates will weigh the evidence to decide if a former US president violated the law. At least twenty witnesses will be called by the prosecution, according to Susan Necheles, the Trump defense attorney. Trump may provide testimony on his behalf, which would expose him to cross-examination and be a hazardous move.

Five women and seven males, primarily working in white-collar fields—two corporate attorneys, a software engineer, a speech therapist, and an English teacher—make up the jury. The majority are from all around the US as well as nations like Ireland and Lebanon; they are not native New Yorkers. In the unlikely event that a juror must withdraw owing to sickness or another reason, the alternates, who will also hear the case, are kept on standby.

Trump is charged with concealing the $130,000 that porn star Stormy Daniels received from his then-attorney Michael Cohen prior to the 2016 election in exchange for her silence on a ten-year-old alleged sexual encounter.

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying company documents. Trump has entered a not guilty plea and has denied ever having spoken to Daniels, whose actual name is Stephanie Clifford.

In three other criminal cases, Trump has also entered a not guilty plea; but, this is the only one that is expected to go to trial before the November 5 election, when the Republican candidate hopes to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden once more.

His office would be unaffected by his conviction.