Trump protestor Max Azzarello's shocked former classmates reveal heartbreaking ... trends now

The former classmates of Max Azzarello have revealed what he was really like at college, before paranoia drove him to set himself on fire outside the Trump trial. 

Azzarello, 37, doused himself in an alcohol substance before taking a lighter to his clothes near Manhattan criminal court.

He was seen kneeling with his hands behind his head engulfed in flames as the world's media and horrified onlookers watched. He died on Friday evening.

The Florida native was a graduate from Rutgers University, where he received a master’s degree in city and regional planning in 2012.

Fellow classmates have now revealed that he would leave supportive Post-It notes for others and for a Frank Sinatra karaoke performance. 

Katie Brennan, a former classmate, told The New York Times: 'He was super curious about social justice and the way things 'could' be. He was creative and adventurous.'

An old high school friend Steven Waldman told the outlet that Azzarello was one of the smartest people he knew. 

Waldman said: 'He was a good friend and person and cared about the world.'

Last year he settled in St Augustine and lived in a modest apartment, according to the outlet. 

Larry Altman, the property manager, told the Times: 'He had political views that I would not consider mainstream. 

'He called our government and the world government a Ponzi scheme. If you met Max, he’d shake your hand, and you’d have a nice conversation. He'd treat you with respect.'

His oldest friends were left even more surprised by his sudden act, with Carol Waldman, the mom of his childhood friend, recalling: 'He was kind and a gentle soul.

'A real wonderful, terrific young guy. Who had his whole life ahead of him.' 

Things changed after the death of his mother, Elizabeth Azzarello, on April 6, 2022, almost two years to the day before his self-immolation. 

After the loss his friends in St Augustine said they saw a change, one that culminated with Azzarello secretly traveling to New York City at some point this year, without his family's knowledge.

'That was around the time when he became more outspoken,' Waldman said of this period, referring to the last eight or so months of 2022. 

'They were close, and they had a good relationship. He was heartbroken.' he recalled.

By the next year, Azzarello and his writings - after penning a beautifully worded memorial following his mother's death - were almost unrecognizable. 

'This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery,' Azzarello wrote in part of his online manifesto, titled The Ponzi Papers. 

'We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup.'

He added how this supposed regime 'is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup,' just

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