A serving US Air Force officer was taken to the hospital in critical condition after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in D.C. in a livestreamed protest of the war in Gaza.
Horrifying video shows Aaron Bushnell, 25, explaining the reasons for his “extreme act of protest” as he walked towards the building before shouting “Free Palestine” as it goes up in flames.
His camera recorded an invisible man asking, “Hello sir, can I help you?” as The airman in combat fatigues approached the embassy doors and sprayed himself with accelerant.
Twelve seconds later the voice is heard asking again ‘Can I help you sir?’ before Bushnell flicks a lighter and ignites the liquid.
Dailymail.com has chosen not to show subsequent images which showed Bushnell being consumed by flames for more than a minute before police and security personnel managed to extinguish them.
The airman declared that he would “no longer be complicit in genocide,” set himself on fire, and livestreamed the horrific scene before being taken to hospital in critical condition.
Bushnell is a DevOps engineer based in San Antonio, Texas, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The video was only seen by a few dozen people on the live streaming service Twitch before the platform removed it, but more than a million had viewed the footage on X last night.
It was shortly before 1 p.m. when Bushnell approached the heavily guarded building on D.C.’s International Drive speaking into a camera with a selfie stick.
‘My name is Aaron Bushnell,’ he tells the camera, ‘I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide.
‘I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s nothing extreme.
“This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
For more than 30 seconds he walks in silence, passing by the neighboring Chinese embassy and holding an open bottle of liquid in his left hand.
When he arrives at the Israeli embassy, he places the camera on the ground and heads to the door, bathing in the liquid before placing the service cap on his head.
Throwing away the flask, he struggles to light his lighter when a voice is heard challenging him.
Dailymail.com has chosen not to show the moment the flames take hold and Bushnell repeatedly shouts “Free Palestine” as he stands his ground for 45 seconds before collapsing to the ground as the inferno subsides.
Sirens were already sounding in the background and a man dressed in civilian clothes was pointing a gun at him while others were spraying him with fire extinguishers.
He was taken to the hospital by DC Fire and EMS with “critical and life-threatening injuries.”
Bushnell is a DevOps engineer living in San Antonio, Texas, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A friend described Bushnell as “the kindest, gentlest, dumbest kid in the Air Force.”
The Secret Service said it received a report that an individual “was experiencing a possible medical/mental health emergency” outside the Israeli embassy.
The airman was taken to the hospital by DC Fire and EMS with life-threatening injuries.
The authorities responded to the embassy alert around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday and found the man with serious burns.
“No embassy staff were injured and everyone is safe,” an embassy spokesperson said.
The embassy is on International Drive in Washington’s North Cleveland Park neighborhood.
It describes him as an “aspiring software engineer with educational and work experience in software development and Linux systems administration, seeking SkillBridge programs to transition from the US Air Force to software engineering.”
A U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed that Bushnell is an active-duty airman.
A Secret Service spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “The US Secret Service Uniformed Division responded to the 3400 block of International Drive, NW, DC regarding an individual who was experiencing a possible medical/health emergency. mental”.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Department was called to the scene in reference to a suspicious vehicle that could be related to the person.
The protest comes as the White House faces growing pressure over the four-and-a-half-month conflict that has claimed more than 30,000 lives.
The president faces a Democratic primary in Michigan on Tuesday, where the state’s large Arab-American population is urged to vote “without compromise.”
Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, a member of the ‘Squad,’ and former Jewish Rep. Andy Levin are among those who have endorsed the ‘Listen to Michigan’ campaign.
“Biden’s blocking of the ceasefire resolution will only intensify outrage and drive pro-peace voices to vote ‘without committing’ to making their voices heard,” said campaign leader Joseph Geevarghese.
Democratic Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud warned this week that Biden could no longer take the Arab vote for granted.
“My biggest fear is that Mr. Biden will not be remembered as the president who saved American democracy in 2020, but rather as the president who sacrificed it for Benjamin Netanyahu in 2024,” he said.
Last week, Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, Biden’s rival, said he was “sickened” by the loss of life in Gaza and would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state if elected president.
“These are the most heartbreaking, horrifying and disgusting images I have ever seen in my life,” said the candidate, who is Jewish.
Biden has demanded that Israel draw up a plan for the evacuation of civilians before any attack on Rafah, the last unoccupied city in Gaza.
The White House declared on Friday that Israeli plans to build another 3,000 homes in the West Bank were “inconsistent with international law.”
AND Sanctions have been imposed on a handful of Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in the occupied territory.
“This is like showing up to a five-alarm fire with a glass of water while giving fuel to the arsonist,” said Yousef Munayyer of the Palestine-Israel program at the Arab Center in DC.
President Biden, seen at a White House gala dinner on Saturday, faces increasing pressure from his own party to stop Israel’s military attack on Gaza.
The president faces a Democratic primary in Michigan on Tuesday, where the state’s large Arab-American population is urged to vote “without compromise.”
Hundreds of people continued to advance towards Gaza’s southern border amid smoke from airstrikes on Sunday as Israel prepares for its assault on Rafah.
Thousands more waited for help amid chaotic scenes on a Gaza City beach
The Israeli embassy issued a statement after the incident saying: ‘On Sunday, February 25, at around 1 p.m., a man set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington and was taken to hospital by ambulance.
“No embassy staff were injured and are safe.”
A similar incident occurred in December when a pro-Palestinian protester set himself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta.
The city’s police chief, Darin Schierbaum, described the incident as an “extreme act of political protest” and said a Palestinian flag was recovered from the scene.
At least two people were injured in the act of self-immolation, including a security guard who tried to intervene.