Man dies after setting himself on fire outside Trump hush-money trial in Manhattan

The man who engulfed himself in flames outside the Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump is facing a trial over alleged hush money payments to a porn actress has died.

Max Azzarello was in a park across the street when witnesses say he flung pamphlets into the air before dousing himself with a liquid.

In a Substack post reportedly written by Azzarello, the 37-year-old Florida native telegraphed the incident calling it "an extreme act of protest."

Hours before the blaze, he had been seen holding up various signs espousing conspiracy theories about various issues and New York police confirmed the materials he threw into the air also pertained to similar ideas.

"The pamphlets seem to be propaganda based, almost like a conspiracy theory type of pamphlet, some information in regards to Ponzi schemes, and the fact that some of our local educational institutes are fronts for the mob so a little bit of conspiracy theory going on there," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph E. Kenny said.

Several people ran into the park, including passerby and officers, to help using their coats and fire extinguishers to smother the blaze.

Julie Berman, who witnessed the disturbing sequence, said she saw Azzarello being taken away on a stretcher. "His face was completely black," she said.

Azzarello was rushed to Cornell Burn Center, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.

This isn't the first self-immolation to seize headlines this year. In February, an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington. He also died as a result.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maxwell Azzarello dies after self-immolation outside Trump trial