Onlookers screamed as fire engulfed the man, who had thrown pamphlets in the air before he set himself aflame. He was taken to a hospital and died hours later.
Not much info at time of posting what prompted the man to do so
CNN reporters on the scene observed one of the flyers, which said “NYU is a mob front” and “had various allegations of wrongdoings against the school.”
The NYT article was updated to say his politics lean in no discernable direction, and that honestly does seem to be the case. He said Biden and Trump were working together on a fascist takeover of the US and the only solution was to tear down the government immediately.
I don't remember the exact name of the psychiatric condition this reminds me of, maybe schizophrenia? But I think our politics has reached a point where fringe beliefs are now so close to the mainstream that we can't identify them as signs of mental illness, opposed to just stupidity.
And for that, I blame Q Anon. It sounds like this man needed therapy and a psychiatrist.