Burning Man Freakazoid Tries Torching SF Church

Remember this guy?

Seems to be more than just a merry prankster.

Alleged Burning Man arsonist accused of trying to burn Grace Cathedral

The man accused of setting the Burning Man on fire four days early has been arrested for allegedly planning to set Grace Cathedral ablaze, San Francisco police said today.

Paul David Addis, 35, was arrested on the cathedral steps at 11:40 p.m. Sunday by police who said they had been tipped that someone intended to set fire to the Episcopal church, police spokesman Sgt. Steve Mannina said.

Addis was wearing an old ammunition belt that carried small explosives, Mannina said. He was booked on suspicion of attempted arson, possession of an incendiary substance, possession of explosives and possession of explosives with intent to terrorize a church.

A bomb dog was brought in to search the area and found no other explosives at the California Street cathedral.

Deputy Chief Morris Tabak said Addis had only a small amount of explosives.

"Did he have the capability to do substantial damage? Absolutely not," Tabak said.

Tabak said police didn't know what Addis' alleged motive was. "He said something about it was his religious right," Tabak said.

Tabak said he expects a judge will order a psychiatric evaluation for Addis, who was being held on $488,000 bail.

Addis was arrested early Aug. 28 in Nevada and charged with felony arson for allegedly lighting the icon of the annual Burning Man festival on fire four days before its scheduled immolation. The fire was doused within half an hour, and the figure was rebuilt in time for the official burning at the festival's end in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.

It's probably more likely he was saying something about the religious right, rather than it being his religious right, but I'll leave that up to the men in white coats to figure out.

Whatever the case, this unstable man needs to be off the streets.

Also here.

Via Memeorandum.

UPDATE: More on this crackpot Addis here.

Addis is a spontaneous dude himself, and serious messaging aside, speaks, he said, "with tongue firmly in cheek." At 35 or 37 years old - he prefers 35, which is the age that Nevada police gave the media - he is a self-described "retired" intellectual-property lawyer who quit law in 2000 to pursue a career as an artist. He is currently touring as the star of his production of "Gonzo, a Brutal Chrysalis," a play about the life of another fire-lover, gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. It played earlier this year in San Francisco and has dates scheduled this month in Seattle and in October in Los Angeles.

A lawyer. It figures.