Donald Trump Hush Money Trial: Man Sets Himself on Fire in Designated Protest Area Near Courthouse

As the 12 jurors and six alternates were being fully empaneled during the Donald Trump hush money trial, police outside the courthouse who were making sure Trump supporters did not cause too much trouble scrambled as a man went to the protest area outside of the courthouse, and lit himself on fire.

The man was identified as Maxwell Azzarello of St. Augustine, Florida and he reportedly "walked into the center of the park, shuffled around his clothes, opened a backpack and took out and threw numerous pamphlets on the ground. He then pulled out a canister, poured a liquid accelerant on himself, lit himself on fire," according to NYPD Chief Jeffrey B. Maddrey.

The incident reportedly happened at around 1:50 PM ET, which is just before the court took a lunch break. The Florida man was stopped by several police officers and was then taken to the burn unit at Weill Cornell Medical Center.

However, according to NBC News, four police officers and one court officer also sustained minor injuries as a result of dealing with the fire. Several family members who police have spoken to noted that while he lives in Florida, Azzarello was born in New York and they did not know he was in New York City.

Chief of Detectives Joseph Kennyn told the media after the incident that the Florida man was carrying pamphlets regarding "propaganda based" around Ponzi schemes and conspiracy theories. However, while he made the stunt during one of the most politicized trials in US history, police do not believe Azzarello was targeting any particular person or group.

Police did note that Azzarello "appears to have been a follower of some conspiracy theories and may have had emotional issues." He also posted about his plans to light himself on fire in advance.

These plans were stopped when police used a large extinguisher to put out the fire. However, they previously tried using a smaller fire extinguisher and failed to put out the flames. They handcuffed him while he was still burning, leading to the officers being injured.

Donald Trump Received Some Bad News About January 6 Lawsuits During Hush Money Trial

Meanwhile, as police were busy contending with the man trying to burn himself outside the courthouse, Donald Trump faced even more bad news for himself as a federal judge allowed several lawsuits regarding the January 6 Capitol Insurrection to go forward.

US District Judge Amit Mehta issued the ruling during the middle of Day 3 of the New York hush money trial and it allowed the lawsuits brought by Capitol and DC police officers, as well as Democratic lawmakers, to move forward. Trump was sued by them for causing the January 6 Capitol Insurrection and the plaintiffs were directly affected, with Trump riling up his supporters into a frenzy to attack police guarding the Capitol and putting the lives of lawmakers in danger.

What Prospective Jurors Said About Donald Trump During Jury Selection

As jury selection happened, Trump was forced out of his comfort zone and was forced to hear what average everyday New Yorkers thought about him as their social media posts were read out loud and they were asked what they thought about him.

Potential jurors were quite honest about their feelings about the former president even with him right in front of them, with many describing him as a racist and sexist and a narcissist right to his face, according to Politico.

Trump just sat there and took these shots as he was the defendant and was not allowed to talk back thanks to the gag order. He was silent even when confronted with social media posts from several potential jurors who did not think too highly of him, even when presented with social media posts calling for officials to "lock him up." One juror even told him to his face directly that he is "very selfish and self-serving."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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