Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial identified as ‘researcher’ who posted conspiracy-laden manifesto online

The man who set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump’s trial is under way has now been identified as a self-described “investigative researcher” who posted a conspiracy-laden manifesto online moments before the incident.

Maxwell Azzarello, a 37-year-old man from Florida, shared a string of conspiracy theories on his social media accounts in recent months, in which he railed against the rich and powerful and claimed “our only goal is to abolish our criminal government”.

On Friday afternoon, mere minutes after the final jurors were selected in the former president’s criminal case, Mr Azzarello self-immolated outside the court at Collect Pond Park.

He is now at Manhattan’s Weill Cornell Medicine Burn Center in critical condition, police said.

Three NYPD officers and one court officer sustained minor injuries from the fire but are in stable condition, authorities told reporters.

Less than an hour before he set himself on fire he railed against corruption in the US government in a manifesto type document posted on Substack, seen by The Independent.

In it, Mr Azzarello describes himself as an “investigative researcher” and said that the act of self-immolation was “an extreme act of protest” over a “totalitarian con” and warned of an impending “apocalyptic fascist world coup.”

“To my friends and family, witnesses and first responders, I deeply apologize for inflicting this pain upon you. But I assure you it is a drop in the bucket compared to what our government intends to inflict,” he wrote.

Authorities said he threw pamphlets throughout the park before setting himself on fire.

“The pamphlets seem to be propaganda-based almost like a conspiracy theory type of pamphlets,” NYPD Chief of Detectives