Details emerge after man sets himself on fire outside of Israeli embassy

A member of the United States Air Force has passed away after he set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. as an act of protest against Israeli’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Here’s what we know. 

Twenty-five-year-old Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio was identified by Washington police as the man who set himself on fire outside of Israel's Washington D.C. embassy on February 25th but the full details of what happened are slowly emerging. 

Photo Credit: LinkedIn @aaron-bushnell

BBC News reported that before Bushnell set himself on fire he said he would “no longer be complicit in genocide” and also explained he was "about to engage in an extreme act of protest.” Much of the incident was caught on video. 

Pictured: the front gate of the Israeli embassy / Photo Credit By APK - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Bushnell used the popular streaming website Twitch to record his self-immolation and in the video, he claimed he was a serving member of the United States Air Force, a remark that would turn out to be true according to the media. 

Screenshot: Reposted on Twitter by @TomasOrpington

Secret Service officers extinguished the flames before Bushnell was taken to a hospital and the airmen reportedly shouted “free Palestine” a number of times after the fire was put out. Bushnell later died as a result of his injuries. 

“The individual involved in yesterday’s incident succumbed to his injuries and passed away last night. We will provide additional details 24 hours after next of kin notifications are complete,” a statement from the U.S. Air Force read. 

Screenshot: Reposted on Twitter by @TomasOrpington

Rolling Stone reported that the Metropolitan Police Department is still investigating the incident alongside the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. But more details have been revealed. 

The New Yorker published details on Bushnell, reporting he joined the U.S. Air Force in May 2020 and was working in information technology and development operations. The news outlet also provides more details on the incident. 

Just hours before lighting himself on fire, Bushnell posted a Twitch link to Facebook and wrote a cryptic description stating that many people ask themselves what they would do if living through one of humanity’s more difficult periods. 

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?’” Bushnell wrote. “The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”

Following Bushnell’s statement that he would not no longer be complicit in genocide, he stated he was about to engage in an extreme form of protest but added that was not as extreme as the problems the people of Gaza were facing. 

“But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all,” Bushnell stated according to the New Yorker, “This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

Bushnell then put his phone on the ground and set himself on fire, struggling to do so. A law enforcement officer then asked if Bushnell needed help, but the twenty-five year old only yelled “free Palestine” and then lit himself on fire. 

A law enforcement officer could be heard off camera yelling at Bushnell to get on the ground while a second officer could be heard screaming: “I don’t need guns, I need fire extinguishers.” 

Screenshot: Reposted on Twitter by @TomasOrpington

Rolling Stone reported that it took officers several minutes to extinguish the fire set by Bushnell and a Secret Service report quoted by the New Yorker revealed that it was two agents who had put the fire out before the fire department arrived, something that could be seen in the video of the incident. 

The New Yorker reported that in the hours before the incident, Bushnell had emailed a number of media outlets, writing: “Today, I am planning to engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people,” one of which was forwarded to BBC News.