EXCLUSIVE: Son of Hillary Clinton friend who descended into madness after his mother died on 9/11 and threatened to kill President Trump at 2017 inauguration is now homeless living on the streets of Miami Beach
- WARNING: Disturbing content
- Dominic Puopolo made headlines in 2017 as the man who threatened to kill then- President-elect Trump at his inauguration
- DailyMail.com can reveal the 55-year-old - whose family had close ties to the Clintons - is now homeless and living on the streets of Miami Beach
- Puopolo was spotted earlier this week naked in an alley behind The Setai Hotel, changing clothes in public before soaping up under a beach shower
- Friends say Puopolo descended into homelessness and madness following the death of his mother Sonia Puopolo who was aboard AA Flight 11 on 9/11
- 'I have just watched his mental health go down and down over time,' one friend told DailyMail.com. 'I'm sure his mother's death is to blame'
- Hillary Clinton was especially close to Puopolo's mother and read the eulogy at her funeral, even praising Dominic for his 'computer wizardry'
- Dominic sat two seats away from her in Boston's Trinity Church
- Puopolo was sentenced to a one-year mental health treatment program after his lawyer told the judge that he calls himself Lord Jesus Christ
Dominic Puopolo was born into privilege, the son of an investment manager. His parents, friends of Bill and Hillary Clinton, moved in the highest circles of New England society and enjoyed summers in a five-bedroom house on Nantucket.
But since 9/11, when his mother was killed by al-Qaeda terrorists, Puopolo's life has descended into homelessness and madness, capped off when he threatened to kill Donald Trump at his inauguration.
Now he is a vagrant with a God complex, living on the streets of Miami Beach, where he once had his own apartment in the center of the bustling beach city.
When DailyMail.com spotted him, he was naked in an alley behind one of the city's chicest hotels, changing clothes in public before soaping up under a beach shower.
Dominic Puopolo, who was charged with threatening to kill then-President-elect Donald Trump at the 2017 presidential inauguration is now living on the streets of Miami Beach, DailyMail.com can reveal. He posed in a blue baseball cap with the presidential seal on it
At the time of his arrest, Puopolo was revealed to be the son of a 9/11 victim who had close ties to Hillary Clinton. He once had an apartment in the city but was seen soaping up under a beach shower
The 55-year-old was spotted earlier this week naked in an alley behind the luxury Setai Hotel, changing clothes in public
'It's such a very sad case,' says one man who has known Puopolo, 55, for years. 'I have just watched his mental health go down and down over time.
'I'm sure his mother's death is to blame. He always told me he was very close to her.'
'Now he's just a shambling wreck who mutters to himself as he walks round South Beach. He spends his nights sleeping on the beach.'
Puopolo was happy to pose for pictures after putting on a grimy yellow T-shirt and shorts behind the Setai Hotel, favored by celebs like the Kardashians, Jay-Z and Beyonce and Giselle Bundchen.
He wore a blue baseball cap with the seal of the President of the United States on it.
Puopolo hit the headlines in January 2017 when he was arrested for threatening to kill Trump at his presidential inauguration.
He was sentenced to a one-year mental health treatment program after his lawyer told the judge that he calls himself Lord Jesus Christ.
He had posted a rambling video rant on his Twitter page, saying: 'Yes, I'll be at the review stand at the inauguration and I'm going to kill President-elect Trump. What are you going to do about it, Secret Service?'
Puopolo was charged with threatening a public servant in 2017 (left) and sentenced to a one-year mental health treatment program. He is pictured right in 2006 speaking outside of court during the trial of a 9/11 terrorist
Puopolo was born into privilege as the son of an investment banker and philanthropist who were friends of Bill and Hillary Clinton and moved in the highest circles of New England society. Pictured: Mom Sonia Puopolo (far right) and sister Sonia (second from left) with the Clintons
Hillary read the eulogy at Sonia's funeral, even praising Dominic for his 'computer wizardry.' Dominic sat two seats away from her in Boston's Trinity Church.
He claimed to have four children with three wives and that he was 'following orders' with his threat, although he did not say who the orders came from.
He was charged with threatening to harm a public servant.
Sonia Puopolo, a former ballet dancer who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, was sitting close to lead terrorist Mohammed Atta, on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles on the morning of 9/11.
She was on her way to visit her other son Mark Anthony and the two of them were planning to attend the Latin Grammys that were scheduled for that night.
But three minutes into the flight, Atta and four other terrorists took over the plane and diverted it to New York, where Atta flew it into the north tower of the World Trade Center, killing all 92 passengers and crew and 1,400 people on the ground.
At her funeral Hillary read the eulogy, even praising Dominic for his 'computer wizardry.' Dominic sat two seats away from her in Boston's Trinity Church.
A year after the attacks, workers at Ground Zero recovered Sonia's left hand with the wedding ring her husband had given her nearly 40-years earlier still attached - unaffected by the 1.6 million tons of smoldering steel, rubble and rock that had laid on-top for all that time.
Puopolo's life as a vagrant is a far cry from the privileged upbringing he had as the son of a prominent New England couple who were friends of Bill and Hillary Clinton
Friends say the 55-year-old's mental state has gotten 'worse and worse' over the years
Dominic's sister Sonia 'Tita' Puopolo said that finding the ring was like a miracle for her family.
'It was an overwhelming moment, an incredible moment,' she told WCVB.
'I meditated and thought, "What is the message here?" she added. 'For my father, it showed love lasts forever. And for me, I really do feel like it came back for a purpose, to share the message that miracles do happen.'
But while Tita became a successful welfare and selfcare expert with her own podcast, her brother's life fell apart.
'Dominic was so badly affected,' his friend told DailyMail.com. 'His mother's death on 9/11 was one of the first things he ever mentioned to me, he couldn't get it out of his mind.
His sister, who is also named Sonia, aka Tita, (left) became a successful welfare and selfcare expert with her own podcast. She is pictured with her late mom and Bill Clinton in an undated photo
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'We'd go to bars and when he met women, again it would be the first thing out of his mouth. It was almost like he used it as a pick-up line.
'When I first met him he had his own apartment. It was nothing very fancy, just a one-bedroom place, but it was right in the heart of Miami Beach,' said his friend.
'But over the years his mental state has got worse and worse. Now he says that he is president or even God.
'I just wish someone would help him.'
A few weeks before his threat to Trump he posted in all caps on Twitter: 'Help someone talk to city of Miami Beach park rangers today. No more lies and delays per order and command Lord and Savior Jesus Dominic Puopolo.'
His profile picture on the site was the presidential seal and he quoted Psalm 46 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'
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