The man who self-immolated outside a Manhattan courtroom Friday during former President Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial had been arrested twice in Florida last year, a police report obtained by The Post reveals. became.
Max Azzarello was arrested in St. Augustine and charged with disturbing the peace on August 21, 2023. He was released the next day, but was rearrested on August 24 on charges of criminal damage and criminal mischief.
During the second booking, police noted that he was suicidal, and in an attached bizarre mug shot, Azzarello can be seen with one eye closed and his tongue sticking out.
In both cases, he was listed as unemployed. Mr. Azzarello remained in the St. Johns County Jail until October 3, when he was sentenced to 180 days of probation and released.
The incident on August 9, 2023, just before the two were arrested. facebook postAzzarello also said he spent “three days in a psychiatric ward,” but there was no immediate way to verify that claim.
Four months ago, Azzarello posted on Instagram, “Protesting in St. Augustine, breaking unwritten rules, mocking cops, embracing the homeless, celebrating the freedom to leave a cult, and supporting anyone and everyone. But I was pleading with you to participate in this activity.” release. “
Azzarello, 37, describes himself as an “investigative researcher” in his online profile, but his voluminous posts and rants suggest he is more of a conspiracy theorist.
The man came to New York last week, but his family did not know he had left Florida, New York City police said.
Just before he self-immolated, Azzarello threw a piece of paper into the air. This included printed copies of Substack’s newsletter, which he labeled “Ponzi paper.”
His last entry was an article titled “I’ve been lighting myself on fire outside the Trump trial,” with a manifesto full of conspiracy theories and celebrity references.
He also mentioned former President Bill Clinton, whom he tried to sue in a massive but conspiracy-filled lawsuit last year that named more than 100 others. The case was quickly thrown out.
“My name is Max Azzarello, the researcher who self-immolated outside the Trump trial in Manhattan,” the roughly 2,700-word post begins.
“This extreme protest is meant to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery: that we are victims of a totalitarian fraud and that our own government (along with many of our allies) has committed an apocalyptic They are about to attack us with a fascist world coup.
Arrest records list Azzarello as a resident of St. Augustine, Florida.
