A serving US Air Force officer was taken to hospital in critical condition after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in DC during a live-streamed protest against the war in Gaza.
A gruesome 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 burst into flames.
His camera recorded an invisible man asking, “Hello sir, can I help you?” as The pilot in combat uniform approached the embassy gate and doused himself with gas.
Twelve seconds later the voice sounds again asking: ‘Can I help you, sir?’ before Bushnell lights a lighter and ignites the liquid.
Dailymail.com has chosen not to show the subsequent footage, which shows Bushnell being consumed by flames for more than a minute before police and security personnel managed to extinguish the flames.
The pilot declared he would ‘no longer be complicit in genocide’ as he 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 livestream service Twitch before it was removed by the platform, but last night more than a million people had already seen the footage on X.
It was just before 1 p.m. that Bushnell approached the heavily guarded building on DC’s International Drive and spoke into a camera on 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 I will no longer be complicit in genocide.
“I’m about to take an extreme protest action, but compared to what people in Palestine have experienced at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all.
“This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
He walks in silence for more than thirty seconds, passing the neighboring Chinese embassy and holding an open bottle of liquid in his left hand.
When he reaches the Israeli embassy, he places the camera on the ground and marches to the gate, immersing himself in the liquid before placing his service cap on his head.
As he throws the bottle away, he struggles to light his lighter as a voice challenges him.
Dailymail.com has chosen not to show the moment the flames catch and Bushnell repeatedly shouts “Free Palestine” as he stands at attention for 45 seconds before falling to the ground as the inferno subsides.
Sirens were already blaring in the background and a man in civilian clothes pointed a gun at him while others showered 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 based 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 had received a report that a person was “experiencing a possible medical/mental emergency” outside the Israeli embassy.
The airman was taken to the hospital by DC Fire and EMS with life-threatening injuries
Authorities responded to the embassy’s alarm around 1 p.m. on Sunday and found the man with serious burns
“No embassy staff were injured and all are safe,” an embassy spokesperson said
The embassy is located on International Drive in Washington’s North Cleveland Park neighborhood
It describes him as an “aspiring software engineer with training and work experience in software development and Linux systems administration, seeking SkillBridge programs to transition from the U.S. Air Force into software engineering.”
A U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed that Bushnell is an active-duty airman.
A Secret Service spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “The United States Secret Service, Uniformed Division responded to the 3400 Block of International Drive, NW, DC regarding an individual experiencing a possible medical/mental emergency.”
The Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit was called to the scene due to a suspicious vehicle possibly associated with the individual.
The protest comes as the White House faces mounting 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 being urged to vote “uncommitted.”
Democrat “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 push pro-peace voices to vote ‘unfettered’ to make their voices heard,” campaign manager Joseph Geevarghese said.
Dearborn Democrat Mayor Abdullah Hammoud warned this week that Biden could no longer take the Arab vote for granted.
“My greatest 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, Biden’s Democratic challenger Dean Phillips said he was “sickened” by the loss of life in Gaza and that he would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state if elected president.
“These are the most heartbreaking, gruesome, disgusting images I have ever seen in my life,” said the candidate, who is Jewish.
Biden has demanded Israel draw up a plan for evacuating civilians before an attack on Rafah, the last unoccupied city in Gaza.
The White House said on Friday that Israeli plans to build an additional 3,000 homes in the West Bank “violate international law.”
And Sanctions have been imposed on a handful of Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in the occupied territory.
“This is like going to a five-alarm fire with a cup of water while giving fuel to the arsonist,” said Yousef Munayyer of the Arab Center’s Palestine-Israel Program in DC.
President Biden, seen at the White House on Saturday at a black tie dinner, is facing mounting pressure from his own party to reign in Israel’s military assault on Gaza
The president faces a Democratic primary in Michigan on Tuesday, where the state’s large Arab-American population is being urged to vote “uncommitted.”
Hundreds of people continued to stream toward Gaza’s southern border on Sunday amid the smoke of airstrikes as Israel prepared to launch its assault on Rafah.
Thousands of others waited for help amid chaotic scenes on a beach in Gaza City
The Israeli embassy released a statement after the incident, saying: ‘On Sunday, February 25, around 1 p.m., a man set himself on fire outside 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 had been recovered from the scene.
At least two people were injured in self-immolation, including a security guard who tried to intervene.