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Drama during the fourth hearing of the trial in New York against Donald Trump in the case of porn star Stormy Daniels. Just as the jury was being filled, a man in jeans and a gray T-shirt threw flyers into the air, doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself on fire outside the courthouse, in the area of a park cordoned off for the fans of the tycoon, despite the large number of police forces present. Maxwell Azzarello, this is the name of the 37-year-old man, arrived in New York from St Augustin, Florida.
It could be a protest action by a supporter of the former president. Some of the leaflets 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 a conspiratorial content, typical of the extreme fringe of Donald Trump’s supporters. Passers-by screamed at the sight of the flames and some tried to put them out but CNN reporters reported in their live links that they saw the man burning for over three minutes. The same was true for other witnesses, who were dismayed by the scene. After a few minutes, however, dozens of police officers rushed in and put out the flames.
The man, who appeared to be alive, was loaded into an ambulance and taken to hospital. The Secret Service that continues to protect Trump informed him of the incident.
The episode happened shortly after judge Juan Merchan announced the completion of the jury, at the end of a long and troubled selection: 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 influenced by the analogies made by the press between Trump and Silvio Berlusconi. Of the 12 jurors, seven are men, five women, almost all employees, including two corporate lawyers, a software engineer, an English teacher, a speech therapist. Six replacements have also been named.
From Monday the criminal trial, the first against a former president, will come to life with the preliminary statements of the parties, before the prosecution illustrates the 34 charges. They all revolve around the payment of 130 thousand dollars to the porn star Stormy Daniels so that she did not reveal an old affair with Trump in 2016 (while Melania was expecting her child), compromising her run for the White House. A payment made by falsifying corporate documents and violating election law. Less serious charges than those contested in the other three criminal proceedings. But Al Capone also slipped up on a minor crime: tax evasion.