Man Who Set Himself On Fire Outside Trump Trial Once Worked For Democrat Congressman

The man who set himself on fire outside former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan trial once worked for U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who represents Nassau County and parts of Queens. Suozzi served as the district’s representative from 2017-2023 before former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) flipped the seat in 2022. Suozzi was once again elected earlier this year after the GOP-controlled House moved to expel Santos.

Maxwell Azzarello was identified as the man who set himself on fire outside the trial shortly after the incident. He ultimately passed away as a result of his injuries on Saturday.

According to his LinkedIn page, he briefly worked as an Operations Director for Friends of Tom Suozzi from August 2013 to November 2013. Azzarello, who traveled from Florida in order to carry out the act, worked for Suozzi when he was running for Nassau County Executive in 2013.

Azzarello’s LinkedIn page notes that he “lead various projects such as preparing the candidate for debates, organizing commercial shoots, planning logistics for campaign rallies, and completing interest group questionnaires.”

In a statement to the New York Post, Suozzi said he remembered the deceased protester fondly and offered his condolences to Azzarello’s family. “Max Azzarello worked on my campaign for Nassau County Executive in 2013 as part of the field staff,” Suozzi said.

“Even though I haven’t seen or talked to Max since then I recall him being very kind, smart and hardworking. It is tragic that he has succumbed to his injuries and I am keeping Max and his family in my prayers.”

Max Azzarello, briefly worked for NY Rep. Tom Suozzi; Recently, Azzarello was a well-paid consultant for Salesforce quit the gig last yr & seemed to spiral down into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. He bashed political leaders from both sides of the aisle.🧐 pic.twitter.com/f5oCMxa0EP

— Sumner (@renmusb1) April 20, 2024

At around 1:30 p.m. Friday, Azzarello took multiple pamphlets out of his backpack and proceeded to throw them around the area. He then retrieved a bottle of flammable liquid and doused himself with it before igniting a fire.

A New York City Police Department (NYPD) spokesman told Fox News that Azzarello was pronounced dead around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, about nine hours after the incident.

While far-left social media members were quick to speculate that Azzarello was a Trump supporter or “MAGA cultist,” his manifesto slammed both Trump and Biden as being part of a worldwide “fascist coup.”

Photo: Reuters

“Liberals mock the hypocrisy of conservatives; conservatives mock the hypocrisy of liberals, and our collective circumstances erode,” he wrote. “The left shouts ‘All Cops Are Bastards,’ which ensures they’ll be hated by the police and the public (and flies in the face of leftist theory). The public’s distrust of the government is at an all-time high, but so is the belief that we are helpless to do anything about it.”

He also railed against Bitcoin, writing that he had filed a lawsuit “against dozens of perpetrators of the cryptocurrency Ponzi – not for litigation, but just to preserve the information and attach my name to it. I was terrified and hadn’t slept in days and it shows, but it served its purpose of keeping myself alive long enough to keep learning and telling this story.”

Azzarello had been the subject of three criminal complaints in Florida in August 2023. This included one incident where the deceased protester stripped his clothes off outside a restaurant and yelled at patrons.

Azzarello was unemployed at the time of the incidents.