There has been speculation over whether or not the man who set himself on fire outside Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial on Friday in New York City is a supporter of the former president.
According to a manifesto posted online and other apparent writings from the man, identified by police as Max Azzarello of St. Augustine, Florida, it seems that he neither backs Trump or President Joe Biden.
He also does not seem to be identified with any major U.S. political party. Instead, Azzarello claims that the U.S. is a “secret kleptocracy” made up of Republicans and Democrats who are pretending to be rivals.
Multiple witnesses and television news cameras saw Azzarello go up in flames after dousing himself with a flammable liquid in a protest area that had been reserved for Trump supporters near the courthouse on Friday afternoon.
According to Newsweek reporter Katherine Fung—who was at the courthouse—a sign that Azzarello was carrying before self-immolation included a link to a Substack post with the title, “I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial.”
Azzarello, who described himself as an investigative researcher on the post, wrote in the manifesto that his “extreme act of protest” was meant “to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery” that involves Trump only tangentially, claiming that cryptocurrency is a “Ponzi scheme” run by the world’s wealthiest people and powerful figures in the government.
“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,” Azzarello wrote. “These claims sound like fantastical conspiracy theory, but they are not. They are proof of conspiracy.”
He 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.”
Azzarello was hospitalized and in critical condition at the time of publication.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) via email on Friday.
Sarah Yenesel; Instagram
Pamphlets that appear to be printouts from documents shared on Azzarello’s Substack account, detailing the supposed conspiracy, were spotted outside the courthouse, while an Instagram account appearing to belong to Azzarello posted the phrase “I love you” repeatedly several times just before the self-immolation.
“Our government is conning us completely,” he wrote. “Bill Clinton was secretly on (former CIA Director) George H.W. Bush’s side… the Democrat vs. Republican division has been entirely manufactured ever since: Clinton is with Bush; Gore is with Bush; Trump is with Hillary, and so on.”
He added: “As it turns out, we have a secret kleptocracy: Both parties are run by financial criminals whose only goals are to divide, deceive, and bleed us dry. They divide the public against itself and blame the other party while everything gets worse and more expensive and handful of people take all the money.”
While Azzarello’s current political leanings are unclear, he allegedly worked for the campaigns of two Democratic congressmen over 10 years ago, according to a LinkedIn profile with his name.
He also appeared to sue the Clinton Foundation last year, alleging that the defendants were involved in a “decadeslong” Ponzi scheme that caused him “significant financial, emotional, psychological harm” to himself and harm to his “health and safety.” The suit was quickly dismissed.
Meanwhile, Azzarello’s apparent Instagram account says, “we’re victims of a bipartisan totalitarian con” and a sign brought with Azzarello to the courthouse on Friday said that “Trump is with Biden and they’re about to fascist coup us [sic].”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.