On Friday afternoon, the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. President erupted into even more chaos than what the public had previously seen through day four of jury selection. Just after 12 jurors had been impaneled in the hush money case against former President Donald Trump, a man doused himself in a flammable liquid before setting himself ablaze outside of the Manhattan courthouse.
Read: BREAKING: Man Self-Immolates Outside Trump Trial in Manhattan
The scene was distressing, and much of it was caught on video. Police officers ran to the man, later identified as Maxwell Azzarello by the NYPD, to put out the flames as the man lay on the ground about 30 feet from the courthouse. He was quickly transported to a burn unit and was reported to be in critical condition before he succumbed to his injuries later Friday night.
The man threw pamphlets containing conspiracy theories into the air before he self-immolated. Officials described a manifesto that appears to be written by Azzarello, where he wrote about researching a global "Ponzi scheme." In the document published online before the incident, Azzarello also alleges a "totalitarian con," and apologized to "friends and family, witnesses and first responders" for "inflicting this pain upon you."
Azzarello's background reveals prior erratic behavior, including arrests in Florida and online activity indicating a growing obsession with conspiracy theories and political unrest.
Personally, it's clear to me that Azzarello was afflicted with disturbed thinking patterns and was having an escalating mental health crisis. I feel sympathetic for his friends and family who have to mourn a high-profile suicide caught on film, and that this death is engraved in history as a casualty related to litigation aimed at Trump.
Notably, Azzarello's social media had several images and videos of self-immolation pinned on his profile, demonstrating that it was an act that he may have generally glamorized. On Instagram, Azzarello posted a photo of Aaron Bushnell, the Air Force service member who died in February after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., to protest Israel's actions in Gaza which he called a “genocide.”
Warning: coarse language in social media post
Azzarello wrote the words, "Heroes and martyrs, folks. God f****** bless you, Aaron Bushnell," over a photo of Bushnell's self-immolation.
The progressive left's response to Bushnell's death was to celebrate him as a martyr, with "Rest in Power" trending on social media in February.
Bushnell's suicide also inspired what seems to be a grotesque form of fan art.
This genre of fan art extended into street art, with one supporter near San Francisco erecting a banner in honor of Bushnell:
The societal response prompted several of my RedState colleagues to write in opposition to the widespread celebration and martyrdom of Bushnell's death, including condemning Cornel West, an activist turned Independent presidential candidate, for comments he made on social media. West wrote:
Let us never forget the extraordinary courage and commitment of brother Aaron Bushnell who died for truth and justice! I pray for his precious loved ones! Let us rededicate ourselves to genuine solidarity with Palestinians undergoing genocidal attacks in real time!
Read More:
Aaron Bushnell’s Suicide Was Not Heroic, It Was Tragic
Aaron Bushnell Proves What We've Said All Along About SecDef Austin's Stupid 'Extremism Stand Down'
The response to Bushnell left me, and plenty of others, concerned about a copycat incident. And, that is what happened. Azzarello, who publicly praised and apparently idolized Bushnell, followed in his footsteps.
But, social media didn't praise Azzarello, and nobody is making any inspired art. Nobody seems to think he was a cutting-edge opposition figure.
In fact, the reporting on Azzarello at the New York Times includes a suicide prevention hotline disclaimer, notably absent in several prior reports about Bushnell (here and here).
We, collectively as an American society, shouldn't have to say things that seem intuitive and common sense, but since the mainstream media and intellectually dishonest leftist pundits won't:
Don't self-immolate.
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