Police on Friday identified the man who set himself on fire outside Donald Trump's Manhattan trial as Maxwell Azzarello, of St. Augustine, Florida, NBC News reported.
Azzarello arrived in New York earlier in the week, and his car was known to be in St. Augustine on April 13. Police said they've spoken with his family, who were unaware he was in New York.
Just after the jury was seated, emergency crews responded to a park outside the Manhattan courthouse, where a man had set himself on fire, the Associated Press reported.
The man took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories and spread them around the park before dousing himself in a flammable substance and setting himself aflame, officials said.
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He was in critical condition Friday afternoon.
Three law enforcement sources told NBC News earlier that the man appears to have been a follower of some conspiracy theories and may have had emotional issues. He may have posted his intention to set himself on fire in advance, the sources said.
There was already a heavy NYPD presence already outside the building due to the high-profile nature of the trial, and officers rushed to get what appeared to be a fire extinguisher to douse the flames after he lit himself on fire. Their first attempt to put out the fire was unsuccessful, and video appeared to show the man trying to sit up.
The fire was put out minutes later after police brought a larger extinguisher, leaving a smoky scene outside court as a gaggle of reporters and witnesses looked on.
It came as a full jury of 12 people and six alternates had been seated in the case against Trump, the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial will place Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual role as criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his tightly contested race against President Joe Biden.
