Chilling images show conspiracy theorist stalking Trump's trial with protest signs day before setting himself on fire outside NYC court

Photographs show how a suspected conspiracy theorist stalked Donald Trump's hush money trial in Manhattan with protest signs for at least two days before setting himself on fire outside.

Max Azzarello, a 37-year-old from St. Augustine, Florida, is seen holding a sign a outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse on April 18 in the image, unearthed as police identified as the man who set himself on fire the next day.

'Trump is with Biden and they're about to facist coup us,' Azzarello's sign reads, outside the courthouse where the historic trial was taking place. The day before, he held a sign critical of New York University, according to The New York Times.

Now in critical condition, he made a series of social media posts about pop star Taylor Swift in the weeks building up the display, said to be 'an 'extreme act of protest...[against] a totalitarian con, and our own government' on his own Substack.

He went on to write how this regime 'is about to hit us with an apocalyptic facist world coup,' just months after a series of arrests in Florida for incidents that took place in August last year, including hurling a drink at a photo of Bill Clinton.

Oddly, the alleged research investigator is seen smiling in an undated photo with the former president, writing, 'we have a secret facist problem.'

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Max Azzarello, a 37-year-old from St. Augustine, Florida , is seen holding a sign a outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse on April 18 in the image

It was unearthed as police identified as the man who set himself on fire the next day. Officers rushed over and tried to help him Friday afternoon as the fire burned. He doused himself in an alcohol substance before taking a lighter to his clothes 

'Trump's in on it,' Azzarello reportedly told the Times on Thursday, saying his beliefs were influenced by research he had carried out into Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist behind companies like PayPal and Facebook.

'It's a secret kleptocracy, and it can only lead to an apocalyptic fascist coup,' he said.

Those quotes were offered as Trump's criminal trial entered its third day of jury selection over alleged falsified business records related to payments made to an ex-porn star during his campaign. 

The GOP frontrunner was indicted last April, and denies any wrongdoing.

The next day, as day four was unfolding, the self-described 'investigative researcher' tossed a stack of pamphlets into the air, which included links to a Substack newsletter he penned touted as 'The Ponzi Papers'   

Second later, he horrified onlookers as he covered himself in gasoline and set himself ablaze in Collect Pond Park, in full view of local and national new crews.

In an article authored hours before with the headline 'I have set myself on fire outside of the Trump Trial,' the suspect spewed conspiracy theories about the 'elites', crypto, Hollywood, COVID, and Clinton, who apparently has been a fascination of Azzarello's in recent years.

DailyMail.com has gained some insight into that fascination, learning the activist had recently completed 180 days probation for a string of incidents involving disorderly conduct and destruction of property - and overall erratic, 'rambling' behavior - in The Sunshine state.

DailyMail.com obtained criminal complaints for each, all taking place within a matter of days in August.

On his LinkedIn profile, a younger Azzarello appears in a photo with Bill Clinton - a figure of fascination for him in recent years, posts on social media show. In an accompanying cation to his bio, the suspected conspiracy theorist writes, 'We've got a secret fascism problem'

Azarello, seen here in a August 24, 2023, mugshot, had recently completed 180 days probation for a string of incidents over disorderly conduct and destruction of property in Florida, where cops and members of the public cited his erratic and 'rambling' behavior

DailyMail.com has obtained three criminal complaints of the incidents - all of which took place in August last year

In one, officers wrote how Azzarello, 37, threw a glass of wine at a framed and autographed photograph of Bill Clinton displayed in the lobby of the Casa Monica Hotel in his hometown of Saint Augustine, Florida, on August 19 of this past year. He is listed as unemployed

Azzarello was arrested several time last year in the Sunshine State for breach of the peace

Fliers spotted at the scene of the self-immolation shortly after it occurred. It has not been confirmed if they belong to the victim

The pamphlets found at the scene link to a Substack curated by the self-described 'investigative researcher'

The tragedy unfolded while former president Trump (pictured on Friday morning) was inside the courthouse 

On his Substack - where he previously ranted about Clinton and the current state of the US government - Azzarello wrote that he set himself on fire in an act of extreme political protest

'Trump's in on it,' Azzarello reportedly told the Times on Thursday, saying his beliefs were influenced by research he had carried out into Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist behind companies like PayPal and Facebook

'It's a secret kleptocracy, and it can only lead to an apocalyptic fascist coup,' the anti-establishment conspiracy theorist said

In the first of three, cops wrote how Azzarello threw a glass of wine at a framed and autographed photograph of President Bill Clinton displayed in the lobby of the Casa Monica Hotel in his hometown of Saint Augustine the evening of August 19, 2023,

The complaint, which lists him as unemployed, notes that the incident took place as Azzarello had just finished dinner at the hotel's restaurant.

He went on to launch the glass at the image, breaking the glass on the framed photograph and damaging it with wine.

Then, two days later, on August 21, Azzarello was arrested again in the Case Monica. where he was reported for, 'standing outside, stripping his clothes off and yelling at customers.'

When cops arrived, they noted how the suspect was 'wearing nothing but his underwear, standing on the sidewalk[, and] holing [sic] a speaker blasting music and yelling.'

The hotel manager told officers that customers were 'scared for their safety', and that many were unable to enter or exit for fear of being caught up in his episode.

On August 24, he was arrested once more for graffitiing property and rifling through a woman's belongings in the flatbed of her truck, after allegedly being seen yelling in someone's yards after 'misinterpreting' an exterminator's sign warning people to keep their children and pets off a lawn that had just been treated.

Cops, at the time, wrote how the conspiracy theorist was convinced the pest control company was 'there to exterminate children and dogs.'

Witnesses described the incident as a 'political protest' although it was not clear what side he was on

As of 2.20pm police described the individual as in a 'critical' condition

New York City police officers inspect the scene where a man lit himself on fire in a park outside Manhattan criminal court

White fire extinguisher residue marks the spot where the incident took place in Collect Pond Park

In a discovery that provided more insight into his mindset at the time, DailyMail.com found that Azzarello posted to Facebook earlier that month - to tell his friends that he had just spent three days in a psych ward.

In the update, he claimed that police officers had showed up at his St Augustine apartment because he had tipped a Starbucks barista $200 and wrote 'Go F*** Yourself' on the receipt.

'I was handcuffed, shoved, and put into a psych ward,' he wrote. 

'I was given no information about why I was there until after my discharge.'

Less than three months later, a suit he filed against Clinton and 100 other influential figures was tossed when he failed to follow up with required court filings, after claiming Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, the country of Saudi Arabia, and more were carrying 'an elaborate network of Ponzi schemes' dating back to the 1990s and continuing through 2023.

Other defendants named in the 2023 suit included 1992 Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, who died in 2019.  The case - filed by Azzarello without a lawyer - was tossed this past October.

Then, in an Instagram story posted a little over nine weeks ago, Azzarello shared a picture of Taylor Swift donned in Super Woman apparel.

He wrote in the caption: 'Super Bowl LVII Forecast: 100% chance of broflakes melting down and whining across the nation.'

in an Instagram story posted a little over nine weeks ago, Azzarello shared a picture of Taylor Swift donned in Super Woman apparel.

More posts from the period provide insight into other objects of the suspect's obsessions

They also show a seemingly unstable state of mind at work in the weeks leading up to the display

He appears to have some dissatisfaction with the US government, painting it as a so-called cult

'Still her best picture,' Azzarello wrote over the May 2022 image, held in front of the same school would go on to slam two months later days before setting himself ablaze. 

Azzarello wrote: 'Why are we all so divided? Because the people who stole the American Dream are shouting 'You're divided! You're divided!' in all directions.'

In another post from this time period, Azzarello appeared to show support for the Eras performer, commenting on a photo of her flashing the peace sign while delivering a commencement speech at New York University.

 'Still her best picture,' Azzarello wrote over the May 2022 image, held in front of the same school would go on to slam two months later days before setting himself ablaze.

'NYU is a mob front', the headline of literature being passed around by the activist in Lower Manhattan not far from the courthouse Wednesday read.

An accompanying tagline added that the pamphlet was 'a brief guide to[the school's] most criminal secrets.'

Reporters with the Times, meanwhile, confirmed the suspect was holding a sign on Wednesday critical of the school at Washington Square Park Wednesday, before moving on Thursday to the park where the incident occurred.  A link to his Ponzi Papers Substack was provided.

On Wednesday, he also posted an Instagram highlight saying he would be 'spending the week at Washington Square Park airing out all of NYU's dirty laundry', a day before a final Instagram story just minutes before the blaze. 

'I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you,' it read. 

'NYU is a mob front', the headline of literature being passed around by the activist in Lower Manhattan not far from the courthouse Wednesday read.

An accompanying tagline added that the pamphlet was 'a brief guide to[the school's] most criminal secrets.

On Wednesday, he also posted an Instagram highlight saying he would be 'spending the week at Washington Square Park airing out all of NYU's dirty laundry', a day before a final Instagram story just minutes before the blaze.

'I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you,' it read 

At  1:37 pm, law enforcement responded to the fire, before bringing Azzarello to a city hospital where he is said to be in critical condition. The New York Police Department said an investigation is ongoing

At 1:37 pm, law enforcement responded to calls reporting the fire, before rushing Azzarello to a city hospital where he is said to be in critical condition. 

The New York Police Department said an investigation is ongoing, as other recent social media posts show how Azzarello recently praised 'martyrs' like the former U.S. military member who also lit himself on fire, but died during protest.    

'Heroes and martyrs, folks,' Azzarello posted on his Instagram page following the February death of US Air Force Active Duty Member Aaron Bushnell,

 "God f****** bless you, Aaron Bushnell." 

Bushnell, 25, died after self immolating outside the Israeli Embassy this past February in Washington, D.C., in protest of Israel's war in Gaza.

'My name is Aaron Bushnell, I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide,' Bushnell is heard saying in video of the incident. 

'I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it's not extreme at all. 

'This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.'

The New York Police Department said an investigation is ongoing, as other recent social media posts show how Azzarello recently praised "martyrs" like the former U.S. military member who also lit himself on fire, but died during the February protest against the war in Gaza

Like the Air Force member, Aaron Bushnell (pictured) Azzarello released his own manifesto before his act on Friday, but unlike the late servicemen, his motives seem a bit more muddied

 Like Bushnell, Azzarello released his own manifesto before his act on Friday.

However, unlike the late servicemen, his motives appear a bit more muddied 

In his Substack, he states he is an 'investigative researcher'. A post published moments before the horrifying incident, reads: 'I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial.' 

The rest of the profile ammounts to a rambling diatribe agaist the establishment, whcih Azzarello appears to be the authors of 'totalitarian con'. 

He also warns of a 'an apocalyptic fascist world coup', and in fliers posted to his social media, he flaunts other self made pamp[hlets centered around the 'dipshit secrets of our rotten world'.

'When the economy collapses and it feels like World War III overnight, you'lll know exactly why,' Azzarello warns in the flier. 

His profile claims he has been self-employed since March of 2023. In one post, he claims to have served 40 days in jail for one of the incidents back in August.

In another from that time period, papers scrawled with seemingly random words and unsettling rambling cover various surfaces of what appears to be the man's apartment.

The NYPD investigation into the incident, as of writing, remains ongoing.