Man dies after setting himself on fire outside courthouse where Trump trial is being held

A man who set himself on fire Friday outside the courthouse where former President Donald Trump's hush money trial is taking place has died, New York City police said early Saturday.

The man, whom police identified as Maxwell Azzarello of St. Augustine, Florida, was in the designated protest area outside.

No time of death was given by police. He was declared deceased by staff at the hospital where he had been taken, the NYPD said.

NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey B. Maddrey told reporters that Azzarello 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, fell on a police barrier and then fell to the ground.

Police said the man entered Collect Pond Park, across the street from the courthouse, at around 1:30 p.m. before setting himself on fire. Bystanders, court officers and police used coats and fire extinguishers to try to put out the fire and help him, Maddrey said.

It appeared to happen around the time that the jury for Trump's trial was fully empaneled — with 12 jurors and six alternates selected to sit for a trial that's expected to last about six weeks. It occurred just before the court took a lunch break.

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New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh told reporters that Azzarello was taken to the burn unit at Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he had been described as alive but in critical condition.

Four police officers and one court officer sustained minor injuries from dealing with the fire, Kavanagh said.

Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Azzarello was born in 1987 and arrived in New York City earlier in the week.