Man Lights Himself On Fire Outside Of New York Courthouse Where Donald Trump's Trial Is Taking Place

A man set himself on fire on Friday afternoon near the Lower Manhattan courthouse where jurors were being chosen for the criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump.

The man doused himself with accelerant at around 1:35 p.m. in Collect Pond Park, across the street from the courthouse. Onlookers screamed and started to run, and soon, bright orange flames engulfed the man. It was unclear what motivated his action, but he threw leaflets espousing anti-government conspiracy theories into the air before the incident.

People rushed to extinguish the fire, but the intensity of the heat could be felt several hundred feet away.

After a few minutes, dozens of police officers arrived to smother the flames. The man was loaded into an ambulance and rushed away. The New York Fire Department said he was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

A high-ranking Police Department official identified the man as Max Azzarello, 37, of St. Augustine, Fla. The official requested anonymity because the man had not been publicly identified. Mr. Azzarello had appeared outside the courthouse on Thursday with a sign displaying the address of a website where the same pamphlets were uploaded. The top post of the website says, “I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial.”

People who witnessed the fire said they were in disbelief as they saw Mr. Azzarello, who was in an area of the park reserved for supporters of Mr. Trump, toss the pamphlets into the air and flames shoot toward the sky. Mr. Azzarello, who was wearing jeans and dark gray T-shirt, fell to the ground.

Some of the pamphlets referred to New York University as a “mob front,” and also mentioned former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Al Gore and the lawyer David Boies, who represented Mr. Gore in the 2000 presidential election recount. Another pamphlet contained anti-government conspiracy theories.

Al Baker, a spokesman for the court system, said the trial schedule would not be affected, though one court officer had been taken to hospital because of the effects of smoke inhalation.

Fred Gates, 60, said he had been riding his bike through the park when he stopped to watch the Trump supporters and saw Mr. Azzarello getting ready to light himself on fire. Mr. Gates said he thought it was a prank or a performance until he saw the flames.

Another witness, Gideon Oliver, a civil rights lawyer, said he saw smoke rising from the park and a court officer rushing from a building carrying a fire extinguisher.

“When I saw and smelled the smoke I thought someone, I assumed one of the pro-Trump protesters, had lit a fire in the park,” Mr. Oliver said. “When I saw police and court officers running, I then thought it might have been a bomb.”

Mr. Azzarello stood tall as he poured the accelerant on himself and then held a flame at chest level. As people nearest him fled, others cried out as they realized what he was about to do.

Screams and shouts — though not from him — filled the air as the flames consumed him and he slowly collapsed.