Conspiracy Theorist Max Azzarello
37-year-old Florida resident known for his conspiracy theories, tragically passed away on Friday night, succumbing to severe burns inflicted when he set himself on fire in Collect Pond Park, Manhattan, opposite the courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial was unfolding, police sources revealed.
Prior to self-immolation, Azzarello scattered a bunch of pamphlets, one of which contained a link to a Substack newsletter, and then doused himself in fuel, igniting a lighter to set himself ablaze, a harrowing scene witnessed by several bystanders.
Azzarello, who referred to himself as an “investigative researcher,” had travelled to New York City from Florida without his family’s knowledge and had been staging protests outside the courthouse, criticizing politicians from both ends of the spectrum.
In a disjointed manifesto on the Substack page, Azzarello wrote, “This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to 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.”
Following his self-immolation, the area was cordoned off by police, and an ambulance rushed Azzarello to a nearby hospital’s burn unit in a critical state. However, Azzarello’s life could not be saved, and he passed away just before 11 p.m., as per sources.
Before this incident, Azzarello had been arrested three times in Florida within several days, facing charges including disturbing the peace and property damage in August of the previous year. After his third arrest, police records noted that Azzarello was suicidal and unemployed.
William Schoeffler, a 25-year-old startup founder who conversed with Azzarello just minutes before he set himself on fire, recounted the horrifying experience. He noted the quietness of Azzarello and the horrifying sight of his burnt skin, a scene he described as ‘pretty horrifying’.
