Active-duty airman set himself on fire in front of Israeli embassy
Washington, D.C. emergency services took the man to a hospital with "critical life threatening injuries."
BY NICHOLAS SLAYTON | PUBLISHED FEB 25, 2024 4:20 PM EST
An active-duty airman set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. today, in uniform.
The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department confirmed to Task & Purpose that they received a report about a man on fire outside the embassy just before 1 p.m. Eastern Time and dispatched emergency services. The fire had been extinguished by uniformed members of the Secret Service. EMS took the man to an area hospital, saying he was suffering from “critical life-threatening injuries.”
The incident appears to be in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza. Independent journalist Talia Jane obtained a video of the self-immolation, although it has not been posted online beyond accounts that are quickly taken down. On X, formerly known as Twitter, Jane reports that the man in Air Force uniform said he was “an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide.” Filming himself walking, he said that what he was going to do would be minimal compared to what is happening to Palestinians. He then set himself on fire and repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine.”
In the video, the airman identifies himself as Aaron Bushnell. A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force confirmed to Task & Purpose that the man in uniform is an active-duty airman, however, the Air Force did not confirm the man’s identity or rank in the military.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/man-sets-self-fire-israeli-embassy-air-force/