Independent on Man who set self on fire, he posted conspiracies online

Max Azzarello posted conspiracies online. He died after setting himself on fire outside Trumps trial

Max Azzarello, 37, who died after setting himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial, had recently started posting anti-establishment conspiracy theories online, including a lengthy article on Substack which blasted politicians, and billionaires and even made reference to The Simpsons .
The manifesto-style document warned of an impending apocalyptic fascist world coup.
At 1.30pm ET on Friday 19 April, he entered a park outside the New York courthouse, where Donald Trumps historic criminal trial is taking place, and set himself on fire. The horrific incident lasted several minutes before the flames were extinguished by police officers and court staff.

Police told NBC news that he was declared dead by the hospital after he was admitted with severe burn injuries. No time of death was given by the police.
His friends described Azzarello as a gentle and very personable man. Some struggled to see how his final act was committed by the person they once knew so well, while others noted how his mothers death had seemed to leave an indelible mark, driving him to support conspiracy theories and go a little haywire.
Who is the victim?
In his lengthy post, Azzarello described himself as an investigative researcher.
Police said that his drivers licence showed he was born in 1987 and was a native of St Augustine, Florida. A registered Democrat, he attended the University of North Carolina from 2005 to 2009, according to public records and his LinkedIn page. He then obtained his masters degree in city and regional planning in 2012 from Rutgers.
Those close to Azzarello described his as kind, creative, and well-informed albeit concerned about the world.
Steven Waldman, Azzarellos friend from high school, described him to the New York Times as one of the most intelligent people he knew.
While at Rutgers, Katie Brennan, a former classmate, recalled him dotting hallways with encouraging Post-it notes for his classmates and singing karaoke versions of Frank Sinatra and Disney songs, the Times reported.
He was super curious about social justice and the way things could be, Ms Brennan said. He was creative and adventurous.

By 2013, Azzarello worked as operations director for the campaign of Tom Suozzi, his LinkedIn profile reveals. The now-Congressman was at the time running for Nassau County Executive.

Since then, he worked in marketing, sales and technology roles, some of which were based in Philadelphia, his profile shows.
Years later, Azzarello moved to St Augustine, Florida, his social media indicates, working as a self-employed research investigator, consistent with his online post.

But at some point this month, between April 13 and April 19, seemingly unbenownst to his family, he arrived in New York City.
The April dates fall almost exactly two years after his mother died. Thats when everything changed for Azzarello, his friends said.
That was around the time when he became more outspoken, Mr Waldman told the Times . They were close, and they had a good relationship. He was heartbroken.
Some told The Daily Beast that he had gone a little haywire as of late, pointing to concerning social media posts.
In June of 2023, he reportedly tagged Ms Brennan and others in what she called a manifesto that he had penned. Alarmed by his writing, she called him immediately and eventually alerted one of his family members.
By August, the Times wrote, he posted on Facebook about visiting a mental health facility: Three days in the psych ward, and all I got were my new favorite socks.
In the following days, he displayed a series of unstable episodes.
He had dinner at St Augustines Casa Monica Hotel, where he apparently found a years-old autograph left on the wall by former president Bill Clinton; Azzarello threw a glass of wine at it, according to police.
Although he admitted to police what had happened, and they apparently dismissed it as a one-off incident, days later, he returned the hotel clothed in only underwear and stood outside, yelling into a bullhorn, the outlet wrote.
A few days later, he vandalized the outside of a United Way office and then entered a strangers truck, the Times reported.
Despite his multiple arrests in Florida, Azzarello did not have a criminal history in New York, police said.
His former landlord, Larry Altman, told the Daily Beast that Azzrello was a very personable guy but over the last few years, he had become more and more involved with the thought process that everything is a conspiracy against the common person.
Mr Altman also told the Times that Azzarello had political views that I would not consider mainstream. He called our government and the world government a Ponzi scheme.
The police-involved episodes of recent years and inclination toward conspiracy theories set the scene for Fridays act in New York City.
He had apparently been spotted outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse on Thursday and Friday.
Those who knew him previously didnt see the act outside the courhouse as consistent with the Max Azzarello they once knew.
Carol Waldman, Azarrellos friend Stevens mother, called Azzarello a kind and a gentle soul. She told the Times that he was a real wonderful, terrific young guy who had his whole life ahead of him.
His beliefs
Azzarello had a long history of posting conspiracy theories and railing against the rich and powerful, according to NYPD officials, who had begun to comb through his social media profiles.

His lengthy Substack post called out a string of people, social media companies and institutions. He also labelled the Covid-19 pandemic as an economic doomsday device.
In the document, Azzarello said that the act of self-immolation was an extreme act of protest.
To my friends and family, witnesses and first responders, I deeply apologize for inflicting this pain upon you. he wrote.
Elsewhere in the lengthy post, Azzarello also referred to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, cryptocurrency, and episodes of The Simpsons .
At one point he compared himself to Lisa Simpson.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters at a press conference. The pamphlets [thrown by Mr Azzarello seconds before the incident] seem to be propaganda-based almost like a conspiracy theory type of pamphlets.
Some information in regards to Ponzi schemes, and the fact that some of our local educational institutes are a front for the mob. So a little bit of a conspiracy theory going on here.

The incident
Police said that Azzarello had not breached any security protocols before the incident, as the park Collect Pond Park was open to the public at the time.
Seconds before setting himself on fire, he tossed a stack of colourful pamphlets into the air.

A man who witnessed the shocking incident, which occurred just minutes after the final jurors were selected in the former presidents criminal case, and identified himself as Dave, was visibly shaken.

Papers clattered on the ground and that caught our attention well my attention anyway and I kinda wondered well what are those papers, Dave told The Independent .

He added that people around him were horrified and became screaming. The incident happened so quickly that nobody was able to stop it.

Its awful to see that.
Azzarello was taken by the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to a burn unit at NewYork-Presbyterian Cornell Medical Center.

He was in critical condition and was later declared deceased by the hospital staff, NYPD said.
According to the fire department, six first responders, including a minimum of three NYPD officers and one court officer, sustained minor injuries while addressing the incident.

Sounds like the guy fell down the rabbit hole. We hear about right-wing people who do that. Based on the article, the guy seemed to pose no threat to other people, nor did he intend to harm other people. Since he wasnt looking to hurt other people, I have pity for him falling down that rabbit hole.

I honestly really dislike that people are trying to paint this dude as part of a political team. Conservatives are claiming hes a far left commie, and as you can see people here are still trying to say hes MAGA.

The man was incredibly unstable and his beliefs were not rooted in reality towards either side. He thought Trump and the democrats were working together on the same side. If anything this should be a case for better mental care facilities than well at least hes on the other team

Yea not even sure he was into MAGA type conspiracy, based on what the article provides.
Say he was against the rich and powerful.Even his Covid conspiracy was more about the economic implications.

If I were to guess he didn't care about Trump and in his bad mental state used that to hope his pamphlets would be read.

But that is based on little info I won't speculate much. Just sad situation.

I didnt make it clear, I think this guy was probably on the left side of the political spectrum. I just used right-wing conspiracy theorists as a parallel because we hear about them more often.

Leftist believe Covid was a government created event?

Leftist believe Covid was a government created event?

For the curious, the jist of his conspiracy theory is that the world's governments (and all major political parties) are literal kleptocracies, that cryptocurrency is a pyramid scheme through which such kleptocracy takes place, and the government is conditioning us to be docile and accept the planned furture global fascist regime by brainwashing us with entertainment media and themed products to make us depressed and convince us that the American dream is dead and resistance is futile.

This "plan" was kicked off in 1988, but had been in the works since 1946.

Is it possible for such trauma to trigger latent schizophrenia? Is that a thing?

Leftist believe Covid was a government created event?