Traumatized Trump fans who witnessed a man horribly set himself on fire outside the former president’s hush money trial on Friday shared their shocked reactions.
Maxwell Azzarello, 37, doused himself with an alcoholic substance before removing his clothes with a lighter near Manhattan Criminal Court.
Fred Gates of Astoria was at a nearby park and said, “I saw him take out a backpack, take out two cans of gasoline, and proceed to take one can and pour it on himself from both sides.”
Gates described yelling for police to come in as people began to flee, including himself.
“I got halfway to the park and that’s when he left,” Gates recalled. ‘He threw a bunch of flyers in the air… He didn’t have anything on his shirt.’
Traumatized Trump fans who witnessed a man horribly set himself on fire outside the former president’s hush money trial on Friday shared their shocked reactions.
Horrific scenes unfolded outside Donald Trump’s hush money trial on Friday after a man set himself on fire in an act of extreme political protest.
Maxwell Azzarello, 37, doused himself with an alcoholic substance before removing his clothes with a lighter near Manhattan Criminal Court.
Flyers seen at the site of the self-immolation shortly after it occurred. It has not been confirmed if they belong to the victim
The shocked witness described Azzarello as “very calm” and “calm,” adding that he didn’t say anything while he set himself on fire.
‘At first I thought it was fake, he was doing some kind of protest where he would use fake gasoline. I didn’t think it was real. It looked like she was on fire for 5 minutes. There was no help. “Everyone was screaming and seeing this,” Gates shared.
Kennedy Mack was visiting from South Carolina and said the shocking event was “completely unexpected.”
“He started throwing leaflets and then he poured gasoline on himself, two or three gallons,” Mack said. ‘It was horrible why someone would do that to themselves. I wish we had never made it this far.’
Witnesses said it was a political protest and that Azzarello was throwing leaflets about Trump and Boden before pouring gasoline on himself and setting himself on fire. His sign said Trump and Biden, according to passersby.
Devastated witnesses described hearing screams as the man went up in flames.
Police officers investigate a canister of flammable liquid abandoned at the scene where a man set himself on fire in Collect Pond Park, across from Manhattan Criminal Court.
Witnesses described the incident as a ‘political protest’ although it was not clear which side they were on.
Trump fans were outside the Manhattan courthouse during the time of the traumatizing fire.
Kayley Bruce, who was also vacationing from South Carolina, cried as she recalled the moment Azzarello set himself on fire.
‘I saw him when I was pumping gas,’ she said through tears. ‘It was bad, it was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It was horrible. I just started praying. I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t know if he’s still alive, his body was completely charred.’
Another witness, Charles Udoaka, said: “I have never seen anything like this in my life.”
He said: “I was walking across the park and I saw a fire and then it just lit up.” People were screaming and trying to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.
Another witness was ordering a hot dog nearby when he turned around and heard people screaming. “It was crazy, it was terrifying,” they said.