(LibertySociety.com) – A disturbing scene unfolded on April 19 outside former President Trump’s hush money trial in New York City when a man set himself on fire. Video footage of the incident went instantly viral on social media as multiple news outlets were on-site reporting that a full jury had been seated for the trial. First responders used fire extinguishers to put out the flames before transporting him to the hospital. Fox News reported that several colored papers were scattered on the ground around the man, which the outlet speculated to be protest papers.
The man, identified as Max Azzarello, died in the hospital later that night. The Post Millenial reported that he was an “antifascist” with extreme anti-government views. The outlet scraped his social media accounts and discovered many conspiratorial posts, mostly to do with cryptocurrency. The pamphlets lying around his burning body included his Substack link that contained many of his writings. He wrote a manifesto that criticized both political parties, the media, and “the collapse of the American Dream,” according to the outlet. Photos from the protest showed Azzarello holding a sign that said “Trump is with Biden and they’re about to fascist coup us.” A vehicle reportedly belonging to the man also had similar rhetoric but connected Trump with Hillary Clinton.
Azzarello was a resident of Florida but traveled to NYC in the days leading up to the trial. The New York Times wrote a lengthy piece about his early life, education, and the death of his mother, which the outlet attributed to his spiraling mental health. The outlet did not provide any of the details from his social media posts.
In August 2023, Azzarello was arrested for throwing a glass full of wine at a photo of former President Bill Clinton inside a hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, according to The Post Millenial. Another complaint filed against Azzarello detailed an incident where he screamed at people outside of the same hotel in nothing but his underwear. He was arrested for a third time in the same month for vandalism and rifling through a female’s belongings on the bed of her truck.
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