(RepublicanPress.org) – On February 25, The Washington Post reported that an active-duty service member set himself on fire in his uniform outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. The man, 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell, was an airman in the US Air Force who was reportedly protesting the war between Israel and Hamas.
Less than two weeks before Aaron Bushnell walked toward the gates of the Israeli Embassy on Sunday, he and a friend talked by phone about their shared identities as anarchists and what kinds of risks and sacrifices were needed to be effective. https://t.co/tf2EdEFjJ7
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 27, 2024
A video of the incident shared online showed the military member yelling “Free Palestine” after setting himself ablaze. DC Police spokesman Paris Lewbel said Bushnell was pronounced dead at the hospital hours after the incident.
The clip of the harrowing incident captured the airman saying he didn’t want to take part in any genocide, referring to the deaths in Gaza. Someone on the scene asked if they could help him as he moved closer to the embassy, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he poured a flammable liquid over himself and ignited it. According to WaPo, Air Force spokeswoman Rose M. Riley confirmed the person involved in the tragedy was an “active duty airman.”
Secret Service agents reportedly responded to a call about a person in need of medical help. When they arrived, Bushnell was already on fire. The officers extinguished the flames, and he was taken to the hospital, where he died.
According to Time, the young airman was a DevOps engineer based in San Antonio, Texas. According to reporter Talia Jane, Bushnell contacted the media that morning, stating he was going to “engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people” and stream it on Twitch.
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