NEW YORK – A St. Augustine man set himself on fire on Friday in New York City outside the ongoing trial of former President Donald Trump.
Officials said the man was in critical condition after setting himself on fire across the street from the courthouse in Manhattan.
The man first walked into the park around 1:30 p.m., took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories and spread them around the park before he doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials said.
The 37-year-old man, who News4JAX is not identifying because of a reported history of mental illness, described himself as an investigative researcher, according to a blog post that he wrote on Friday.
He wrote about conspiracy theories, cryptocurrency, Ponzi schemes and “The Simpsons.”
According to the St. Augustine Police Department, he has a history of several arrests for vandalism and criminal mischief. Police said he threw a glass of wine at an autograph of former President Bill Clinton at the Casa Monica Hotel in August 2023, causing nearly $500 in damages.
In the same month, police said he defaced a sign at a United Way and took books from the library then threw them in the bushes.
He was also arrested for vandalizing a pest control sign. He told police the “company was there to exterminate children and dogs.”
Officials believe the man had traveled from Florida to New York in the last few days.
Federal court documents show that the man filed a lawsuit in New York alleging a “decades-long fraudulent scheme.” The lawsuit includes a seven-page table of defendants, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and the Chelsea Clinton Foundation, Meta, crypto firms Binance and Coinbase, various investment firms, and others.
The lawsuit was dismissed for lack of standing and subject matter jurisdiction about six months later.
He was recently released from probation on April 4.
Authorities said they were also reviewing the security protocols outside the courthouse.
“We are very concerned. Of course, we are going to review our security protocols,” Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.
The property manager over an apartment building on St. George Street in St. Augustine said the man had been staying in the apartments for the last three years before moving out two months ago. He said he was surprised to hear about Friday’s events.
“He was a real nice guy. We got along well. He always paid his rent on time. He got along with everybody in the building. There were no issues,” Larry Altman said.
News4JAX also spoke with two of the man’s neighbors who said although he kept to himself, he exhibited strange behavior.
“On his door, a couple of times he left a note that had some kind of internal mentally unwell type of inscription,” One man said. “It was pretty dark stuff.”
“It was always some weird combination of things. The last time it was Trump and Hillary is about to fascist coup us up,” a woman told News4JAX.
Another neighbor who lives further away said what happened is a reflection of the mental health problems in our country.
“I read the manifesto and it’s really sad and shocking. You just don’t know what’s going through people’s minds. I feel for him,” Mara C. said.
New4JAX also tried to speak with the man’s father but he declined to comment.