Max Azzarello made multiple campaign donations to Bernie Sanders
Max Azzarello, the man who set himself on fire outside the Trump trial in New York on Friday night, was a “Bernie bro”—a committed Bernie Sanders supporter—and made multiple campaign contributions dating back to 2015.
Twitter account Libs of Tik Tok unearthed Azzarello’s history of campaign contributions in a post on Friday night. Libs of Tik Tok also drew attention to a photo of Azzarello wearing a Bernie t-shirt.
Between December 2015 and March 2020, Mr Azzarello made a total of 16 declared donations either to the Bernie Sanders campaign or ActBlue, the Democrat fundraising platform. ActBlue can be used to make campaign contributions to all Democratic candidates. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 campaigns both used ActBlue to accept donations.
The donation history also reveals that Azzarello worked at one point for the progressive social-justice NGO the Liberty Hill Foundation, based in Los Angeles. The organization was founded in 1976 by Sarah Pillsbury, the heiress to the Pillsbury baking empire.
A photograph of a vehicle apparently belonging to Azzarello has also emerged, which will add further credence to speculation that deep-seated anger at the fate of Bernie Sanders may have influenced Azzarello’s decision to self-immolate.
“Trump is with Hillary and they’re about to fascist coup us,” the back of the vehicle reads, with a link to Azzarello’s Substack page, where he posted his manifesto.
A hatred of the Clintons would make sense for a Bernie supporter. Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton in 2016, in an election that was widely dismissed as “rigged” by Sanders supporters and other key figures within the Democrat party, including Elizabeth Warren.
A photo of Azzarello with Hillary’s husband, the former president Bill Clinton, has been circulating on social media, but the date of the photograph is unknown at this time.
Azzarello was arrested last year in Florida for throwing wine on a framed autograph of Bill Clinton. The arrest was part of an apparent mental break and multiple run-ins with the law that appear to have a clear bearing on his actions on Friday.
In his protest outside the courthouse, Azzarello waved a banner claiming that Biden was also colluding with Trump.
