A Florida man armed with conspiracy theory “propaganda” flyers set himself on fire outside Manhattan Criminal Court Friday — as former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial was underway, police said.
Max Azzarello, 37, of St. Augustine, Florida, shuffled into the public park across the street from the 100 Centre Street courthouse just after 1:30 p.m. — just as the jury was finalized in the historic case, according to cops.
Once inside the park, which was surrounded by barricades for Trump’s trial, Azzarello took off his jacket, dumped what cops believe was an alcohol-based cleaning accelerant over himself — and then lit himself up.
“He’s on fire and the area in the park where some of the accelerant spilled is also on fire,” NYPD Chief of Department, Jeffrey Maddrey, said as he described the horror.
“Civilians, court officers, members of the police department, they run into the park, they make efforts to put him out. They use their coats, they use fire extinguishers.”
Disturbing footage from the scene showed Azzarello completely engulfed in flames for several minutes as his blackened body twitched on the ground while horrified witnesses screamed in the background.
Just seconds before lighting himself up, Azzarello had reached into a book bag and retrieved a stack of colorful pamphlets that he tossed into the air — including some that linked to a Substack page with the heading, “I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial.”
In a rambling, incoherent 2,648-word manifesto posted online prior to the ordeal, Azzarello — who identified himself as an investigative researcher — said he had self-immolated as an “extreme act of protest” over a “totalitarian con” and impending “apocalyptic fascist world coup.”
“The pamphlets appear to be propaganda-based, almost a conspiracy theory type of pamphlet,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
“Some information in regards to Ponzi scheme and the fact that some of our local educational institutes are fronts for the mob. So, a little bit of a conspiracy theory going on here.”
First responders loaded a severely burned Azzarello into an ambulance and rushed him to Cornell University Hospital’s burns unit where he remained in a critical condition as of Friday afternoon, police said.
Those who jumped in to help douse the flames — including three NYPD officers and one court officer — suffered minor injuries from their exposure to the fire, FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.
“It happened fast. He was up in flames and seemed determined,” a witness, only identified as Dave, told The Post.
“I heard this clattering and it was these papers that he had flung up and they clattered to the ground,” he continued. “Then he pulled out a can and he poured it over himself. At that point, I thought ‘oh this could be awful’.”
“And after pouring himself with obviously something flammable he took out, I think, a lighter then he lit himself on fire,” he added.
Disturbing video posted on Instagram showed officers scrambling to put out the flames on metal barriers in the park and the ash-covered man twitching on the ground.
In the aftermath, cops could be seen scurrying around collecting the discarded flyers.
Azzarello, who hails from Florida, had arrived in the Big Apple at some point after last Saturday, police said.
His family weren’t even aware he’d left the Sunshine State, according to cops.
He was pictured outside the courthouse just on Thursday, holding up a sign that said “Trump is with Biden and they’re about to fascist coup us” and wearing red and black gloves and a backpack.
NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said police were “very concerned” following Friday’s horrific incident and brought in a bomb squad and police dogs to sweep the area and nearby vehicles.
“This gentleman did not breach security protocols, the park was open,” Maddrey noted, adding that officials would now decide whether additional security was needed and the green space would have to be roped off.
“Of course we’re going to look at everything, and the magnitude of what’s going on around here. We’ll re-assess our security with our federal partners,” he told reporters.
“We’re going to consider whether we have to shut this area down.”
