[News] US airman who set himself on fire outside Israeli embassy dies

[Anti-Imperialist News]

aljazeera.com
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/26/us-airman-who-set-himself-on-fire-outside-israeli-embassy-dies>
US airman who set himself on fire outside Israeli embassy dies
Al Jazeera
February 26, 2024
------------------------------

DEVELOPING STORY,

*Aaron Bushnell yelled ‘Free Palestine!’ as he lit himself on fire and fell
to the ground.*

A member of the United States air force who had set himself on fire outside
the Israeli embassy in Washington in an apparent protest against Israel’s
war in Gaza has died, the Pentagon says.

The 25-year-old airman, Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio, Texas, died from his
injuries, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, said on
Monday.

US media reports said
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/26/us-airman-sets-self-on-fire-in-protest-over-israels-genocide-in-gaza>
Bushnell livestreamed himself on the social media platform Twitch wearing
fatigues and declaring he would “not be complicit in genocide” before
dousing himself in liquid on Sunday.

He then lit himself on fire while yelling “Free Palestine!” until he fell
to the ground. The footage has since been removed from Twitch.

In a statement, the air force said on Monday: “The individual involved in
yesterday’s incident succumbed to his injuries and passed away last night.”

The air force said it would provide additional information a day after
military officials complete notifying his next of kin.

The incident comes as protests against Israel’s war on Gaza continue across
the US.

In December, a protester set herself on fire outside the Israeli consulate
in Atlanta. A Palestinian flag was found at the scene, and the act was
believed to be one of “extreme political protest”.

Israel launched an assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on
October 7, killing at least 1,139 people and seizing about 250 as hostages.

Since those attacks, Israel has bombarded the Palestinian territory from
air, land and sea and launched a ground invasion. More than 29,000 people
have been killed in the Israeli assault, according to Palestinian
authorities.

US politics, Canada’s multiculturalism, South America’s geopolitical
rise—we bring you the stories that matter.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has left much of the territory in ruins and
displaced more than 80 percent of its population.

______________________________

US Air Force member dies after setting himself on fire at Israeli Embassy
in DC yelling, ‘Free Palestine’
By
Social Links for Snejana Farberov
Published Feb. 26, 2024

US Air Force member Aaron Bushnell has died from his injuries after setting
himself on fire
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/25/us-news/israeli-embassy-self-immolation-man-critically-injured/>
outside
the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, an official confirmed Monday.

A US Air Force spokesperson confirmed to The Post that 25-year-old Bushnell
died overnight, though she did not officially name him, citing the ongoing
notification of next of kin.

Officials were still contacting family members Monday and will not
officially announce his death until 24 hours after that is complete, the
Air Force representative said.
[image: A man wearing a US Air Force uniform reportedly set himself on fire
outside the Israeli Embassy] 5
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/us-news/us-air-force-member-dies-after-setting-himself-on-fire/#>
A photo posted on X (formerly Twitter) shows an unidentified man who
reportedly set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in
Washington, DC, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. X/Talia Jane

There was no immediate word on Bushnell’s cause of death.

A harrowing video livestreamed on Twitch on Sunday afternoon appeared to
show the serviceman dressed in uniform standing in front of the embassy and
identifying himself as a member of the US Air Force.

“I will no longer be complicit in genocide [in Gaza]. I am about to engage
in an extreme act of protest,” Bushnell reportedly said, before setting
himself ablaze and repeatedly crying out, “Free Palestine.”

Just hours before his deadly act of self-immolation, Bushnell posted a
final message on Facebook.

[image: Aaron Bushnell]
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/us-news/haunting-final-post-of-us-airman-who-set-himself-on-fire/>
Haunting final post of US airman who set himself on fire in front of
Israeli Embassy in DC: ‘You’re doing it. Right now’
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/us-news/haunting-final-post-of-us-airman-who-set-himself-on-fire/>
[image: Members of Israel's government and their families have received
threatening letters from the 'Israeli Revengers' group vowing to harm them
over the Jewish State's alleged failings in preventing the Oct. 7 massacre.]
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/25/world-news/israeli-revengers-threaten-knesset-kin-over-alleged-oct-7-failings/>

“Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during
slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country
was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now,” he
wrote.

The message included a link to the Twitch livestream, which was later
removed for violating the platform’s community guidelines.
[image: Aaron Bushnell] 5
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/us-news/us-air-force-member-dies-after-setting-himself-on-fire/#>
It was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Air Force that Aaron Bushnell is
an active-duty airman. X/@taliaotg

In the now-deleted video, Bushnell was sprayed with a fire extinguisher
before firefighters arrived to take him to the hospital with
life-threatening injuries around 1 p.m. He was initially listed in critical
condition.

No embassy staff were injured during the fire, the Israeli Ministry of
Foreign Affairs said, according to GLZ Radio
<https://twitter.com/GLZRadio/status/1761828881890169262>.

Bushnell was not known to the embassy before the incident, the statement
added.
[image: Police take security measures and investigate the crime scene after
a US Air Force member set himself alight in front of the Israeli Embassy in
Washington on Feb. 25, 2024.] 5
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/us-news/us-air-force-member-dies-after-setting-himself-on-fire/#>
Police take security measures and investigate the crime scene after a US
Air Force member set himself alight in front of the Israeli Embassy in
Washington, DC, on Feb. 25, 2024. Anadolu via Getty Images
[image: DC Fire and EMS services at the scene shortly before 1 p.m.] 5
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/us-news/us-air-force-member-dies-after-setting-himself-on-fire/#>
The DC Fire and EMS services were dispatched to the scene shortly before 1
p.m. Anadolu via Getty Images
[image: Israel flags and EMS seen outside the Israeli Embassy] 5
<https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/us-news/us-air-force-member-dies-after-setting-himself-on-fire/#>
The man was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
@GLZRadio/Twitter

The airman had served with the US Air Force for nearly four years and was
based in San Antonio, Texas, according to his LinkedIn profile.

For the past year, Bushnell worked as a software engineer while pursuing a
bachelor’s degree in computer science from Southern New Hampshire
University.
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