Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial identified as ‘researcher’ who posted conspiracy-laden manifesto moments earlier
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial identified as ‘researcher’ who posted conspiracy-laden manifesto moments earlier
The NYPD identified the man as Maxwell Azzarello, 37, who is now in critical condition in Cornell burns unit. He has a long history of posting conspiracy theories and railing against the rich and powerful
The manifesto doesn't seem to have anything to do with Trump, but I'm betting the usual right-wing pundits will turn this guy into a martyr for their cause anyway.
the meat beat manifesto
I hope they copy his example by the thousands.
I didn’t hear about this. I hope he recovers and gets the help he needs.
The first thing everyone heard was "Trump trial" and "man sets self on fire". The news media was mostly covering the trial in a live stream format which didn't help get the whole story out. Now that's its been a few hours, a more complete picture is forming.
Mental illness is a hell of a thing. Especially when it leads to self-harm.
He died in hospital
It’s very sad that he wasn’t able to get whatever help he needed before doing this. Reading his posts, he was very clearly unwell.
Definitely. I only read part of the one post (the “manifesto” or whatever we’re calling it) and he talks about how friends and family don’t believe him. They could’ve seen the warning signs. No idea if they tried anything or what they tried. It’s hard to force people to get care.
Getting care also isn't free in this country and completely unaffordable to almost 50 million Americans.
It happened right in front of a CNN reporter while she was on air, basically telegraphing his death live. Felt real bad for her, could tell she was pretty shaken. She's a legal reporter not a war correspondent, probably hasn't seen something like that before.
His ramblings are batshit conspiracy nut nonsense, but I bet you can find some nuggets of reality hidden among the crazy. He's entirely overly falling back on his focus on cryptocurrency itself as the master tool to destroy the world, when really cryptocurrency is just another system that can be used for good or evil, no different than any other monetary or political system from the eyes of someone with no ethical or moral concerns about criminality.
If you throw a thousand darts, one has to hit.
Maybe it’s true that all the Harvard Simpsons writers are mob bosses? I hope it’s that one.
Please let that include Hank Azaria
Here’s his ramblings:
https://theponzipapers.substack.com/p/i-have-set-myself-on-fire-outside
Calls himself a researcher, doesn't provide any of his research.
I no longer have my original research files from the crypto rabbit hole. If you want to see them, you’ll have to get my laptop back from the government. Ask them how they got it - it’s a very fun story.
Oh yeah, "the government" has all his research. Which government? Oh you know, the government. Because apparently this super genius researcher was unfamiliar with the concept of "backups".
So I asked myself the question: If The Simpsons served the interests of organized crime, how would it do so?
I'm just saying, there is a very thin line between genius and insanity...
How on fire was this guy? Was it just a little publicity stunt with some rubbing alcohol on his forearm or did he show up with a gallon of gasoline?
He is now at Manhattan’s Weill Cornell Medicine Burn Center in critical condition, police said.
Based on that, I'd say less the former category and more the latter category.