Soapboxers

Soapboxxers refer to specialized pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto IV whose primary function is to stand in designated areas of Liberty City and soapbox about their thoughts, be its religious preaches, conspiracy theories or outlandish retelling of their dreams.

Types of soapboxxers
Soapboxxers in GTA IV are generally classified into two groups.

The first are African American preachers who constantly warns about the doom of humanity. They appear to be rather eccentric and delusional, their statements often lacking factual basis. Even so, they believe that what they're saying is true. They are most likely a play on the "bible belt" fundamentalist preachers who often come into large cities (such as Washington, D.C. and New York City) to preach "the good word" to anyone passing by. There are two different character models of preachers, each with there own view on what hell is in store for those who are nonbelievers and the "heaven" that those who believe will go to when they die. If you listen to them, you can hear them say some rather odd and interesting things.

The other form of soapboxxers are Caucasian American conspiracy theorists who attempt to spread far-fetched conspiracy theories relating to the government. They warn of how corrupt the government (specifically, that of the United States) and how the government spies on them (explaining that the government has put robots in the drinking water). On other occasions, they tend to express their thoughts on a Utopian society where food is plentiful. They appear to be slightly drug induced and each model has its own unique dialog.

Locations
The locations of both soapboxxers are usually the same, with both characters interchanged each time the player passes by the same location. Common locales predominantly include places in Algonquin, such as the Suffolk church, Star Junction, Middle Park, hospitals, and opposite the South Bohan Safehouse.

While most locations may feature both a preacher or conspiracy theorist, only preachers may appear standing in front of a chapel building in the Alderney State Correctional Facility prison yard.

Behavior
Soapboxxers are often condemned by common NPC pedestrians, who tend to verbally abuse their ideals and telling them off. Nevertheless, soapboxxers tend to continue on with their soapboxing, and may often be heard looping the same preach over and over again.

The only way soapboxxers can be silenced is if the soapboxxer is physically attacked by the player or other factors (i.e. via punches, a weapon, or a simply vehicular accident). If the soapboxxer manages to survive the initial onslaught, they will stop their preaching and attempt to flee.