Family: Man Who Set Himself on Fire at National Mall Was Mentally Ill

Was not a political statement

It was mental illness — not politics — that drove a New Jersey man to set himself ablaze in Washington on the National Mall.

John Constantino had fought a "long battle with mental illness."

"His death was not a political act or statement," family lawyer Jeffrey Cox said in a statement Tuesday.

Cox did not divulge why Constantino, who was 64 and had once lived in Queens, torched himself on Friday.

Comments

[SweatingGin]

"He said they were a waste of time, effort and money," Horner, 56, said. "He said to me, 'They're no good. They don't look out for us and they don't care about anything but their own pockets.'"

Shit, a libertarian

[Ted Levy]

"It was mental illness ? not politics ? that drove a New Jersey man to set himself ablaze in Washington on the National Mall."

In an unrelated story, evidence accumulates that Thich Quang Duc was mentally unbalanced...