Fellow burners will understand my instant dismay upon hearing this:

SAN FRANCISCO -- A man once accused of attempting to set fire to San Francisco's historic Grace Cathedral has been released from custody after pleading no contest Friday to reduced misdemeanor charges, his attorney said Monday.

San Francisco police arrested Paul Addis -- an "eccentric" performance artist according to his attorney, public defender Tal Klement -- outside the cathedral Oct. 28, his backpack laden with fireworks.

Police reported at the time that he had other items with him that "led officers to believe he might be up to something," and that a neighbor reportedly heard Addis say, "The cathedral isn't going to be there anymore."

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Addis has also been ordered to undergo six months of counseling, and to stay at least 150 yards away from Grace Cathedral, according to Klement.

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Addis was earlier charged in Nevada for allegedly setting the Burning Man effigy on fire before it was scheduled to be torched at the annual counterculture festival held each Labor Day weekend in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Addis is now scheduled to return to Nevada to face those charges, according to Klement.


I hope that to anyone who has in the past regarded this guy as a "hero" and "personifying the Burning Man anarchy spirit" will now rethink their stance. Sounds like he's simply a psychotic pyro who needs to go (and stay) behind bars.

Grrr.