The man who set himself on fire in front of the courthouse in NYC where Trump's trial is being has been identified as 37-year-old Max Azzarello.
(Article by Thomas Stevenson republished from ThePostMillennial.com)
He dropped a stack of papers that led observers to his Substack called the "Ponzi Papers."
At the top of his latest article, he wrote, "My name is Max Azzarello, and I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan. This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery: We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup."
In a final video before the fire posted to his Instagram, he said he wanted to "start a f*cking revolution."
A copy of the papers dropped on the sidewalk where he lit himself on fire was also posted to his social media.
In a video before he lit himself on fire in front of the courthouse in New York, Azzarello pitched the booklet about many different conspiracy theories in a video on his social media, largely about cryptocurrency.
In the video he alleged that cryptocurrency was a "ponzi scheme" that would lead to the collapse of the economy and that the government "kleptocracy" is the only organization that stands to benefit.
He pitched the booklet as a way for others to help "bend history" in face of the scheme.
In his last Substack article he also added, "To my friends and family, witnesses and first responders, I deeply apologize for inflicting this pain upon you. But I assure you it is a drop in the bucket compared to what our government intends to inflict. Because these words are true, this is an act of revolution."
On his LinkedIn page, Azzarello’s profile photo was of him and Bill Clinton.
Max Azzarello’s LinkedIn profile photo before he self-immolated in front of Trump trial was set to a picture of him and Bill Clinton. pic.twitter.com/OW9YaEMNik
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 19, 2024
He also sued the former president along with more than 100 others. The suit was later thrown out.
In terms of his political views, Azzarello’s posted on “Anarchocommunist” Reddit pages.
I've scraped Max Azzarello's Reddit history.
Max stated on Reddit he was an Anarcho-Communist. https://t.co/lGYppf7IOPpic.twitter.com/Qe3P9hoZuO
— Reddit Lies (@reddit_lies) April 19, 2024
"I'm a huge proponent of left unity, and believe that only the left has the power to build a united movement to enact meaningful change. I wish more leftists realized that shouting ACAB and memeing about guillotines and molotovs is precisely what our criminal government would want them to do. In my eyes, the only thing 'ACAB' stands for is 'All Cops Are Brainwashed.' I worship Mother Earth magazine to the high heavens," he posted at one point.
Max Azzarello, the man who lit himself on fire outside the Trump trial, wrote this unhinged rant against Donald Trump. He suffered from serious TDS.
TDS can be very harmful and deadly! pic.twitter.com/I9GFT5jmSc
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 19, 2024
Highlights from his stories on Instagram also shed more light into his political beliefs. One of his last Instagram stories before lighting himself on fire was of the repeated line, “I love you.”
Read more at: ThePostMillennial.com