All posts tagged: Manhattan

Man Dies After Setting Himself On Fire Outside Trump Hush-Money Trial

Man Dies After Setting Himself On Fire Outside Trump Hush-Money Trial

The man who lit himself on fire on Friday outside of the Manhattan courthouse where jury selection for Donald Trump’s hush-money trial was taking place has died, New York police confirmed to multiple news outlets Saturday morning. The man, identified by police as Max Azzarello, 37, was in Collect Pond Park in Lower Manhattan on Friday when, at around 1:30 pm, he threw conspiratorial pamphlets in the air and doused himself in liquid accelerant before lighting himself on fire, according to several reports of the incident. Because there was a significant police presence around the courthouse for Trump’s judicial proceedings, dozens of officers quickly attempted to extinguish the blaze, the Associated Press reported. Azzarello was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries later that night. Azzarello had lingered outside the same courthouse a day earlier with a sign bearing the name of his Substack newsletter, on which he had also uploaded the pamphlets, The New York Times reported. He had another sign reading, “Trump is with Biden, and they’re about to fascist …

Inside Alvin Bragg’s All-Star Prosecution Team

Inside Alvin Bragg’s All-Star Prosecution Team

Alvin Bragg is the Manhattan district attorney. He’s the boss and makes the big decisions, and thus has been receiving the bulk of the abuse from Donald Trump. But Bragg will be only a passing presence in the courtroom during the former president’s trial on charges of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels—and even when Bragg shows up, he won’t be speaking, either in the courtroom or on the courthouse steps. Instead, the day-to-day weight of pursuing an unprecedented conviction will be shouldered by six of Bragg’s top lawyers. There is no official “lead prosecutor” on the team, and all six have significant responsibilities. Yet two of the attorneys should have especially prominent roles—in delivering key statements and in examining pivotal, complicated witnesses, including Daniels and Michael Cohen, most likely, and perhaps even the highly volatile defendant himself. The contrast in styles and personalities will be particularly striking when Matthew Colangelo is doing the questioning. “No drama,” says friend and former legal colleague Anurima Bhargava. “He isn’t somebody …

Max Azzarello’s last social media post before setting himself on fire outside Trump trial | US | News

Max Azzarello’s last social media post before setting himself on fire outside Trump trial | US | News

A man set himself on fire on Friday outside of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse where former president Donald Trump is sitting for his New York hush money trial. The NYPD identified the man as Max Azzarello, 37, from Florida. NYPD officials said Azzarello had used an “alcohol-based substance used for cleaning” to set himself on fire, after throwing “propaganda-based” flyers into the air. Azzarello could be clearly seen lying on the ground on fire at around 1.30 pm. Passersby rushed to douse the flames and he was rushed away on a stretcher by emergency crews. Azzarello is in critical condition in a burn unit, police said Friday. Officials believe he had traveled from Florida to New York in the last few days. Azzarello apparently claimed in a blog post earlier on Friday that he was going to set himself on fire outside the courthouse in an “act of protest.” The NYPD said all of Azzarello’s social media profiles will be scrubbed. READ MORE: Man in critical condition after setting himself on fire outside Trump trial …

Person Sets Self On Fire Outside New York Trump Trial: Reports

Person Sets Self On Fire Outside New York Trump Trial: Reports

A person reportedly lit themself on fire on Friday outside of New York’s Manhattan Supreme Court during jury selection for former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial. A CNN reporter at the scene described seeing a man burning while people attempted to extinguish the flames. Video aired by Fox News also appeared to show a fire burning in a nearby park. “They are putting jackets over the body of this man,” the Fox News reporter said. A general view shows the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. A person was seen rushed away on a stretcher by emergency crews after the fire was extinguished, The Associated Press reported. A police spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost that a man was taken from the scene to a nearby hospital in critical condition following a 911 call at 1.37 p.m. They were unable to confirm any additional information, including whether it was an act of self-immolation. Witnesses at the scene told various news outlets that the person threw pamphlets into the air before pouring a liquid on themself. Some of …

Man self-immolates outside Trump trial in Manhattan, no word on motive

Man self-immolates outside Trump trial in Manhattan, no word on motive

A man set himself on fire Friday afternoon outside the lower Manhattan courtroom where jurors were being selected for the trial of former President Donald Trump. According to NBC News, the man was ablaze for “several minutes” before the flames were put out by someone with a fire extinguisher. The incident occurred in the fenced-in, designated protest area outside the courthouse, which the man entered after “throwing flyers into the air,” CNN reported, citing a senior law enforcement official. The New York Police Department said the person has been taken to a local hospital. There is no word on a possible motive. The jarring scene came the same day as a dozen jurors were selected to serve Trump’s trial over allegations that he falsified business records to cover up a hush payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star who says she had an affair with the former president. Judge Juan Merchan has said the trial could begin Monday.   Source link

“His mouth kept going slack”: Trump appeared to doze off during his first Manhattan court appearance

“His mouth kept going slack”: Trump appeared to doze off during his first Manhattan court appearance

Donald Trump began his day with multiple posts on Truth Social blasting all the various people he accuses of unfairly persecuting him. The former president appeared to be less energetic as a criminal trial began in Manhattan, however, fading in and out of consciousness while inside the courtroom, The New York Times reported. “Well, Jake, he appeared to be asleep,” the Times’ Maggier Haberman said in an interview Monday afternoon with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “Routinely his head would fall down,” Haberman continued. “He didn’t pay attention to a note that this lawyer, Todd Blance, passed him. His jaw kept falling on his chest and his mouth kept going slack.” “Sometimes people fall asleep during court proceedings, but it’s notable, given the intensity of this morning,” Haberman added. At other times, Trump was more animated, whispering to his legal team and reacting to the proceedings with scornful expressions. When Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Trump’s hush money trial, warned Trump that he could be thrown in jail for disrupting the trial, the Republican candidate …

Judge warns Trump: Show up to Manhattan hush money trial each day or “there will be an arrest”

Judge warns Trump: Show up to Manhattan hush money trial each day or “there will be an arrest”

Former President Donald Trump can continue showing up for his criminal trial in Manhattan — or, potentially, go straight to jail. That was Judge Juan Merchan’s warning to the Republican candidate on Monday, NBC News reported, as jury selection continues in a case where prosecutors allege Trump conspired to falsify business records, covering up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election. As NBC News noted, the warning is a standard reminder for criminal defendants. But it is the first time the warning has ever been delivered to a former U.S. president. Katie Phang, a legal analyst with MSNBC, reported that Trump acknowledged his right and responsibility to attend the trial in an exchange with Merchan (who he has repeatedly attacked on Truth Social). Trump also promised to behave himself. “If you disrupt the proceedings, you can be excluded from the courtroom and committed to jail based on your conduct and the trial will continue on in your absence,” Merchan told Trump, per a transcript that Phang …

Judge in Trump’s Manhattan hush-money case declines to recuse himself over daughter’s political work

Judge in Trump’s Manhattan hush-money case declines to recuse himself over daughter’s political work

Donald Trump’s lawyers last week filed a request for the judge presiding over his hush-money case to recuse himself due to his daughter’s political work. On Monday, Judge Juan Merchan declined. “There is no agenda here,”  Merchan said Monday, The New York Times reported. “We want to follow the law. We want justice to be done.” Trump’s lawyers had sought a recusal on the grounds that Merchan’s daughter works for a Authentic, a firm that has done business with Democrats, including the Biden campaign. “Authentic and Your Honor’s daughter are making money by supporting the creation and dissemination of campaign advocacy for President Trump’s opponent, political rivals, and the Democrat party,” Trump’s lawyers argued in the rejected motion, as The Hill noted. A similar motion was rejected last year, part of a months-long campaign to delay Trump’s election interference trial. Merchan said Monday that the latest Trump motion relied on “a series of references, innuendos and unsupported speculation.” His comment came after a meeting with the state ethics advisory committee, which determined that his daughter’s …

Case of the Mondays: Trump starts week with Truth Social rant attacking Manhattan judge, prosecutor

Case of the Mondays: Trump starts week with Truth Social rant attacking Manhattan judge, prosecutor

With the jury selection process beginning in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, the former president stormed on to Truth Social with a rant that targeted an assortment of people that he believes are unfairly persecuting him. “Just four years ago I was a very popular and successful President of the United States, getting more votes than any sitting President in history,” Trump wrote Sunday evening. “Tomorrow morning I’ll be in Criminal Court, before a totally conflicted Judge, a Corrupt Prosecutor, a Legal System in CHAOS, a State being overrun by violent crime and corruption, and crooked Joe Biden’s henchmen ‘Rigging the System’ against his Political Opponent, ME!” While a gag order prohibits Trump from making public statements about jurors, likely witnesses, court staff, and the relatives of both Judge Juan Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, neither Merchan nor Bragg are themselves included in the order. Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records in order to hide $130,000 worth of hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, …

Voice Lessons | Kevin Lozano

Voice Lessons | Kevin Lozano

Fred W. McDarrah/MUUS Collection/Getty Images A contact sheet of Fred W. McDarrah’s photographs of Village Voice writers and staffers at a union meeting, New York City, July 8, 1982 In December 2016 I was sitting in The Village Voice’s fluorescently lit office in New York City’s Financial District, waiting to interview for a job. There was a strange flutter in the air; big news had just arrived. My phone had buzzed on the elevator ride up with a push alert bearing a New York Times article: “The Village Voice Names a New Top Editor, Again.”  The last decade had not been kind to the Voice. The paper had been hollowed out by its previous owner, the New Times newspaper chain. As the journalist Tricia Romano remembered, during the “years that New Times ran the paper, it was death by a thousand cuts, as they slowly fired everyone.” Among those forced out were staffers who had worked there for decades, including Robert Christgau, J. Hoberman, Nat Hentoff, and Lynn Yaeger. In 2015 the paper’s ownership changed hands …