A serving US Air Force officer was hospitalized in critical condition after setting himself on fire during a live-streamed protest against the war in Gaza outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC.
The horrific video shows 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell explaining the reasons for his “extreme act of protest” as he walks towards the building before shouting “Liberate Palestine” as it bursts into flames.
His camera recorded an unseen man asking, “Hello sir, can I help you?” as the airman in combat uniform approached the embassy gates and doused himself with accelerant.
Twelve seconds later, the voice can be heard asking again: “Can I help you, sir?” before Bushnell lights a lighter and ignites the liquid.
has chosen not to show the footage below, which shows Bushnell being consumed by flames for more than a minute before police and security personnel managed to extinguish them.
The airman declared he would “no longer participate in genocide” by setting himself on fire and livestreaming the horrific scene before being rushed to hospital in critical condition
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bushnell is a DevOps engineer based in San Antonio, Texas
The video was only seen by a few dozen people on the live streaming service Twitch before it was removed from the platform, but as of last night more than a million people had seen the footage on X.
It was just before 1 p.m. when Bushnell approached the heavily guarded building on International Drive in Washington and spoke into the camera of a selfie stick.
“My name is Aaron Bushnell,” he says to the camera, “I am an active member of the United States Air Force and will no longer participate in genocide.”
“I am about to carry out an extreme act of protest, but compared to what the people of Palestine experienced at the hands of their colonizers, this is not extreme at all.”
“This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
For more than 30 seconds he walks in silence, past the neighboring Chinese embassy, holding an open bottle of liquid in his left hand.
When he reaches the Israeli embassy, he puts the camera on the ground and marches to the gate, where he douses himself in the liquid before putting on his service cap.
He throws the bottle away and tries to light his lighter when a voice is heard challenging him.
chose not to show the moment when the flames take over and Bushnell repeatedly shouts “Liberate Palestine” as he stands at attention for 45 seconds before falling to the ground as the inferno subsides.
Sirens were already wailing in the background and a man in civilian clothes pointed a pistol at him while others doused him with fire extinguishers.
He was taken to the hospital by DC Fire and EMS with “critical and life-threatening injuries.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bushnell is a DevOps engineer based in San Antonio, Texas.
A friend described Bushnell as “the nicest, gentlest, goofiest little kid in the Air Force.”
The intelligence agency said it received a report that a person outside the Israeli embassy “was in a possible medical/mental health emergency.”
The pilot was taken to the hospital by DC Fire and EMS with life-threatening injuries
Authorities responded to the embassy's warning around 1 p.m. on Sunday and found the man with severe burns
“No embassy staff were injured and everyone is safe,” an embassy spokesman said
The embassy is located on International Drive in Washington's North Cleveland Park neighborhood
It describes him as “an aspiring software developer with educational and professional experience in software development and Linux systems administration, seeking SkillBridge programs to transition into software development from the US Air Force.”
A US Air Force spokesman confirmed that Bushnell is an active-duty airman.
A Secret Service spokesperson told : “The US Secret Service, Uniformed Division, responded to the 3400 block of International Drive, NW, DC in reference to an individual who may be experiencing a medical/mental health emergency.”
The Metropolitan Police Department's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit was called to the scene regarding a suspicious vehicle possibly associated with the individual.
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 in which the state's large Arab-American population will be asked to vote “non-bindingly.”
Democratic “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and former Jewish Rep. Andy Levin are among those who have supported the “Listen to Michigan” campaign.
“Biden's blocking of the ceasefire resolution will only increase outrage and encourage peace advocates to vote 'non-binding' to make their voices heard,” said campaign manager Joseph Geevarghese.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, a Democrat, warned this week that Biden can no longer take the Arab vote for granted.
“My greatest fear is that Mr. Biden will be remembered not 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, Biden's Democratic challenger, Rep. Dean Phillips, said he was “disgusted” by the loss of life in Gaza and would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state if elected president.
“These are the most heartbreaking, terrible and disgusting images I have ever seen in my life,” said the candidate, who is himself Jewish.
Biden has demanded that Israel submit a plan for the evacuation of civilians before an attack on Rafah, the last unoccupied city in the Gaza Strip.
The White House said Friday that Israeli plans to build an additional 3,000 homes in the West Bank were “contrary to international law.”
And sanctions have been imposed on a handful of Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in the occupied territories.
“This is like approaching a five-alarm fire with a cup of water while simultaneously 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 dinner on Saturday, is facing growing pressure from his own party to curb Israel's military assault on Gaza
The president faces a Democratic primary in Michigan on Tuesday that will ask the state's large Arab-American population to vote “non-bindingly.”
Hundreds of people continued to stream toward Gaza's southern border on Sunday amid smoke from airstrikes as Israel prepared for its attack on Rafah
Thousands more waited for help amid chaotic scenes on a beach in Gaza City
The Israeli Embassy released a statement after the incident that read: “On Sunday, February 25, at approximately 1 p.m., a man set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.”
“No embassy personnel 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 self-immolation, including a security guard who tried to intervene.