Trump fan sets himself on fire in front of the court trying the former president: he is dead

Drama during the fourth hearing of the trial in New York against Donald Trump in the porn star Stormy Daniels case. Just as the jury was being completed, a man in jeans and a grey t-shirt threw flyers in the air, doused himself with flammable liquid and set himself on fire outside the courthouse, in a park area cordoned off for the tycoon's fans, despite the large police force present. Maxwell Azzarello, this is the name of the 37-year-old man, arrived in New York from St Augustin, Florida. When it was Saturday morning in Italy, the agencies broke the news of his death.

This may have been a protest action by a supporter of the former president. Some of the flyers concerned former president George W. Bush, former vice-president Al Gore and lawyer David Boies, who represented Gore in the 2000 election recount. According to initial police information, the writings had conspiracy content, typical of the extreme fringe of Donald Trump supporters. Passers-by shouted at the sight of the flames and some tried to extinguish them, but CNN reporters reported in their live coverage that they saw the man burning for over three minutes. So did other witnesses, who were appalled by the scene. After a few minutes, however, dozens of policemen rushed in and extinguished the flames.

Uno dei libretti che Azzarello ha lanciato in aria prima di darsi fuoco. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The episode happened shortly after Judge Juan Merchan announced the completion of the jury, at the end of a long and troubled selection process: dozens of candidates stepped aside or were excluded for not being able to guarantee their impartial judgement, or for fear of threats and media overexposure. Among them also an Italian-American who withdrew claiming to be conditioned by the analogies made in the press between Trump and Silvio Berlusconi. Of the 12 jurors, seven are men, five women, almost all of them office workers, including two corporate lawyers, a computer engineer, an English teacher, and a speech therapist. The six alternates were also appointed.

From Monday, the criminal trial, the first against a former president, will get into full swing with the preliminary statements of the parties, before the prosecution outlines the 34 charges. All revolve around the payment of $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels so that she would not reveal in 2016 an old affair with Trump (while Melania was expecting their child) compromising his run for the White House. A payment made by falsifying business documents and violating election law. Less serious charges than those alleged in the other three criminal proceedings. But Al Capone also slipped on a lesser offence: tax evasion.