Max Azzarello (right), who set himself on fire outside Manhattan Criminal Court, shared links to an online manifesto he wrote (left) (Pictures: Max Azzarello/Instagram)
A man who set himself ablaze outside ex-President Donald Trump’s hush money trial courtroom has been identified as a conspiracy theorist who wrote an eerie manifesto.
The man who lit himself on fire outside Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday afternoon has been identified by police as Max Azzarello, 37, of St Augustine, Florida.
Just before dousing himself with gasoline and igniting, Azzarello tossed pamphlets in the air with the link to his writings on a Substack page called The Ponzi Papers.
Azzarello’s post was titled ‘I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial’ and dated April 19.
Max Azzarello set himself ablaze outside Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday afternoon (Picture: AP/YouTube)
(Picture: Substack)
‘My name is Max Azzarello, and I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan,’ he writes.
‘This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discover.’
His rambling post includes conspiracy theories on topics ranging from ex-President Bill Clinton to the coronavirus to cryptocurrency.
‘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,’ he writes.
A pamphlet dropped by the man who set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial was underway (Picture: Reuters)
Max Azzarello had been espousing various conspiracy theories (Picture: Max Azzarello/Instagram)
‘These claims sound like fantastical conspiracy theory, but they are not. They are proof of conspiracy.’
Azzarello lit himself moments after the full jury of 12 and six alternates were selected in Trump’s criminal trial, which is the first-ever for any former or serving US president. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a 2016 hush payment to silence porn star Stormy Daniels on their alleged affair.
Several passersby and at least one person used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.
Azzarello was rushed on a stretcher away from the scene and was listed in critical condition.
Max Azzarello was rushed away in a stretcher after lighting himself on fire (Picture: Getty Images)
Max Azzarello tossed pamphlets in the air with the link to his writings on a Substack page called The Ponzi Papers (Picture: Getty Images)
Authorities believe Azzarello traveled from Florida to New York in just a few days ago.
Azzarello ends his manifesto with: ‘I hope you know how powerful you are. I wish you a hell of a lot more than luck.’
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