The man who set himself on fire outside Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York appears to have written a manifesto beforehand, calling the disturbing display an "extreme act of protest," RadarOnline.com has learned.
Max Azzarello took to the online platform Substack on Friday to publish a lengthy document titled: "I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial."
In it, the self-described "investigative researcher" wrote that when he doused his body in accelerant and burst into flames, he did it to warn the world about "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," Azzarello wrote.
He went on to say that his "claims sound like fantastical conspiracy theory, but they are not. They are proof of conspiracy," and "we are all in a desperate state of emergency that requires your action."
The manifesto included assertions that the U.S. government is involved in "Ponzi schemes" to manipulate the American population, and touched on an array of topics like cryptocurrency, the Clintons, and New York University.
Azzarello did acknowledge his fiery display would have consequences, writing to his "friends and family, witnesses and first responders" that "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," he continued.
Before bystanders noticed the flames, Azzarello had been holding up a sign with a URL outside the courthouse, according to Newsweek, who published a copy of the nine-page manifesto. The link led to his Substack account, which is called "The Ponzi Papers."
Shortly afterward, he "walked into the park across the street from the courthouse” and began “throwing flyers into the air” before lighting himself on fire, CNN reported.
Officers with the New York Police Department rushed over and carted Azzarello away for emergency care.
Azzarello's identity was released during a press conference where officials revealed he was from Florida. They also said he was being treated for "critical" injuries at burn center on the Upper East Side.
Associates of Azzarello told The Daily Beast that in recent years, Azzarello had “gone a little haywire” and that his social media posts were becoming concerning.
His former landlord, Larry Altman, called Azzarello "a very personable guy, not an idiot when you’re sitting around talking with him, but over the course of the last few years he’s become more and more involved with the thought process that everything is a conspiracy against the common person."
The ordeal played out during the fourth day of Trump's high-profile hush money trial. The former president faces 34 felony charges of falsifying business records to make alleged payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of his presidency.
