New York, New York – The man who set himself on fire outside of former
President Donald Trump’s “hush-money” trial on Friday is a mentally ill
conspiracy theorist who sought evidence of a criminal “fascist kleptocracy”
by analyzing episodes of “The Simpsons.”

The man, who was identified through an unearthed Substack article titled “I
have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial,” is 37-year-old Maxwell
Azzarello, a Rutgers University graduate and “investigative reporter”
living in Greater Philadelphia, according to his LinkedIn.

Reports later clarified that Azzarello had actually been living in St.
Augustine, Florida.

Azzarello’s Substack appears to serve as a manifesto for his frenetic
political views. The article bizarrely implicates tech billionaire Peter
Thiel and the cryptocurrency platform Bitcoin as a “Ponzi scheme” hatched
to bring about the collapse of the United States. It also seeks to raise
awareness of a “secret kleptocracy” working behind the scenes to bring
about “an apocalyptic fascist world coup.”

“Social media, owned by crypto criminals like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon
Musk, is flooded with nonsense conspiracy theories and memes reminding us
that we are hopeless, helpless, anxious, depressed, ironic, scared,
apathetic, escapist, lonely, misguided, and jaded, telling us we can’t do
anything but have a laugh at our circumstances,” said Azzarello on his
Substack.

“It is all so they can organize an unprecedented, apocalyptic rug pull on
the entire populace as they pivot to fascism, which is perhaps best
understood as kleptocracy at the barrel of a gun,” he continued. “When we
piece it all together, we understand the truth: We are in a totalitarian
doomsday cult.“

Azzarello also points to evidence found in mass media which allegedly
confirms his many theories, evoking the names of authors, movies, and
television shows like George Orwell, Easy Rider, and The Simpsons. In these
things, Azzarello claims one can find proof of a group of “doomsday cult
kleptocrats” who can only be stopped unless we “abolish our criminal
government.”

“Why is Stanley Kubrick’s comedy about mutually assured destruction called
Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb?”
Said Azzarello. “Because he was a cocky secret fascist who was getting us
to stop worrying and love the bomb. Why did he make A Clockwork Orange? So
we’d rejoice at ultra-violence designed to desensitize us to the horrors of
the world.”

“I’ve been, like Lisa Simpson, desperately trying to get friends, family,
and the public to believe the proof of a totalitarian con I’m trying to
show them, and they’ve turned away with hostility, apathy, disbelief, and
partisanship,” he continued.

“Do you know the phrase, ‘work sets you free?’ It was written on the gates
of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps,” Said Azzarello. “It was
an evil, criminal lie…It’s the same message as this ‘touching’ Simpsons
episode: That the best thing we can do for ourselves and our loved ones is
to slave away for evil billionaires. That’s what the Harvard grads all tell
us, anyway.”

An examination of Azzarello’s personal Facebook page revealed that the City
and Regional Planning degree-holder had been placed in a psych ward in
August of 2023 for apparently harassing a Starbucks barista with
inappropriate messages he wrote on his tip receipt. In a post made to
Facebook, Azzarello claims the incident would lead to a police encounter
which resulted in him becoming institutionalized.

While in the psych ward, Azzarello says he drew upon the lived experiences
of Spanish Antifascists in the 20th century to cope with his
rehabilitation.

“Want to know how the Spanish Anarchists did it in the ’30s?” Azzarello
asked. “While incarcerated, there was NO hierarchy between staff and
prisoners. You wouldn’t be able to distinguish one from the others, so
there was no opposing force, even in detainment. Pretty rad, right? If the
goal is rehabilitation (and that should be the only goal), I’ll bet that
model would produce tremendous results.”

On one of Azzarello’s now-suspended Reddit accounts, u/coup_radley, he
appeared to be a regular contributor to r/stupidpol, a “broad
Marxist/Leftist forum.” In posts made by Azzarello, he describes himself as
an “Anarcho-Communist” in favor of a “broad Left unity” against the “ruling
kleptocracy.” Other articles on his Substack opine about “misinformation”
and “conspiracy theories” on social media, and claims that the West is now
run by a Secret fascist “ultra-capitalist and transnational doomsday cult.”

At the end of Azzarello’s Substack article, he asks readers to don a pair
of “truth-colored glasses” before a fascist “apocalypse” overtakes the
country. He then directs them to a series of promotional materials that
allegedly contain proof of his many conspiracy theories.

“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,” he said,
ending the article.

“I hope you know how powerful you are. I wish you a hell of a lot more than
luck,” he continued.

On Friday, Max Azzarello set himself on fire in front of the Manhattan
courthouse used to host Donald Trump’s ongoing criminal trial. According to
reports, first responders were able to extinguish the flames and escort
Azzarello to a nearby hospital for treatment. It is currently unknown what
condition he is in but the Justice Report will continue to provide updates
as they become available.

Azzarello’s act of self-immolation would be the second documented incident
of such protests in recent memory. In February, US Airman Aaron Bushnell
set himself on fire outside of the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C in
protest of Israel’s ongoing “genocidal” war on Gaza. Bushnell—an avowed
anarchist—would quickly be elevated as a martyr by pro-Palestine
demonstrators across the globe.

Update 4/20/24: Maxwell Azzarello has now died from his injuries. Reports
indicate he was “declared deceased by hospital staff” by the NYPD.

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