A man who set himself on fire in the designated protest area outside a New York City courthouse on Friday where former U.S. President Donald Trump was on trial tossed “conspiracy theory”-laden fliers into the air before carrying out what he called an “extreme act of protest.”  Maxwell Azzarello, who is in his 30s, was intubated and listed in critical condition in the burn unit at Weill Cornell Medicine, officials said.  The St. Augustine, Florida, man had reportedly arrived in New York City earlier this week without his family’s knowledge. On Friday, the self-described “investigative journalist” posted a document titled, ‘I Set Myself on Fire in Front of the Trump Courthouse’ on the platform Substack, explaining his motivations.  “This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and critical discovery: We are victims of a totalitarian coup, and our own government (along with many of its allies) are on the verge of unleashing a worldwide fascist apocalyptic nightmare upon us,” he wrote.  In the lengthy screed, in which he mentioned Trump a handful of times, alleging that the real estate mogul is part of a “secret kleptocracy” with every living former president and his political rivals, the man also profusely apologized not only to his friends and family, but also to the bystanders and first responders “for inflicting this pain on you.” However, he added that it “pales in comparison to what our government intends to inflict.”  According to authorities, the fliers he tossed contained “conspiracy theories [with] information about a Ponzi scheme,” and the man claimed that “some of our local educational institutions are fronts for the mafia,” NBC News reported.  The outlet added that after dropping the literature, Azzarello removed a can from a backpack and doused himself with what authorities believe was an alcohol-based accelerant. That’s when police officers and civilians rushed to the area, attempting to smother the flames with their jackets and fire extinguishers, NYPD Chief of Detectives Jeffrey Maddrey described. Four officers suffered minor injuries from exposure to the fire.  Though Azzarello did not breach “any security protocols,” New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said officials will be reviewing procedures, according to ABC 7.  “We don’t believe that he targeted any specific group. Right now, we’re labeling this incident as a self-described conspiracy theorist and we’ll go from there, but the investigation will continue,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny added.  Meanwhile, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt released a statement offering “condolences to those traumatized by witnessing” the incident and thanking New York City’s first responders and law enforcement for their response, which “proves that our nation is in serious trouble.”  “Not knowing the motivations behind this sick act, it is hard to comment definitively other than to say that we are grateful that, to our knowledge, no one else was physically harmed besides the individual himself,” she said.  The incident unfolded at around 6:37 p.m. after a jury of 12 and six alternates were selected in Trump’s trial, paving the way for opening statements to begin next week.  At issue is a $130,000 hush-money payment that the former president’s company made to his then-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who in turn gave the money to porn star Stormy Daniels on Trump’s behalf to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with the real estate mogul just a month before the 2016 presidential election.  The former president has pleaded not guilty to the 34-count indictment filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and has denied ever having an encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.  Trump has also been criminally charged in Washington, D.C., and Georgia for his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as in Florida, where he illegally retained classified documents after leaving office in 2021.  However, this is the only case expected to go to trial before the Nov. 5 midterm elections, in which the real estate mogul is expected to face off against current President Joe Biden.  See photos from the aftermath of the protest in the gallery above.  Read more: Man Sets Himself on Fire Outside Trump Trial in NYC After Tossing Conspiracy Theory Fliers