On February 25, 2024, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old serviceman of the United States Air Force, committed an act of self-immolation outside the front gate of the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. 

During the incident, Bushnell said he was protesting "what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers" and declared that he "will no longer be complicit in genocide" before dousing himself with flammable liquid and lighting himself on fire. As he burned, Bushnell repeatedly shouted "Free Palestine!" while a police officer pointed a gun at him and local emergency services arrived on scene.

The act was livestreamed on Twitch. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department responded to assist the United States Secret Service after Bushnell set himself on fire, and he was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. The Washington D.C. police confirmed Bushnell's death the following day. This was the second self-immolation protesting United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war at an Israeli diplomatic station in the United States; another protestor set themself on fire at the country's Atlanta consulate in December. In reaction to the incident, the Pentagon responded in a press conference that "our support for Israel's inherent right to defend itself is ironclad".

Background

Bushnell grew up in Orleans, Massachusetts. He started his career with the United States Air Force (USAF) in May 2020, having done Basic & Technical Training. He was trained as a Client Systems Technician, having been educated in cybersecurity. He later worked as a USAF DevOps engineer in San Antonio, Texas, and was pursuing an undergraduate degree in software engineering from Southern New Hampshire University. A friend of Bushnell's described him as the "kindest, gentlest, silliest little kid" who was constantly striving for "liberation for all with a smile on his face".

Bushnell is not the first person in the US to use self-immolation to protest against Israel over the Palestinian humanitarian crisis. On December 1, 2023, an individual, whose identity was not revealed by the Atlanta authority, protested via self-immolation before the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia which resulted in critical injury of the protester.

Event

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?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now.

Aaron Bushnell, final message on Facebook.

Bushnell created a will before self-immolating, which left instructions including that his cat be left with a neighbor after his death. Bushnell sent a message to media outlets before his planned self-immolation where he wrote "Today, I am planning to engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people".

On February 25, 2024, at approximately 12:58 p.m. local time, Bushnell approached the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., intending to immolate himself as an act of protest against the Israel–Hamas war. He had also created a Twitch account under the name "LillyAnarKitty" with a Palestinian flag as his profile banner with the caption "Free Palestine". While livestreaming, he said "I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit to genocide. I am 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 not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal," while walking towards the embassy.

Outside the embassy, Bushnell placed his camera down, positioned himself in front of the gates, and poured a liquid over himself. A security officer approached Bushnell, asking if he needed help, but was ignored.

After igniting himself, Bushnell repeatedly shouted "Free Palestine!" as he was burning, eventually he collapsed to the ground. The security officer radioed in for assistance. A police officer approached the scene, aimed a gun at Bushnell off-camera and ordered him to "get on the ground" multiple times, while another officer yelled "I don't need guns, I need fire extinguishers". Multiple officers responded to the scene and used fire extinguishers on Bushnell. He was transported by the DC Fire and EMS to a local hospital where he later died from his burn injuries, at the age of 25.

Aftermath

Investigation

The Secret Service, Metropolitan Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced they would investigate the incident. The Metropolitan Police refused to confirm the authenticity of the livestream, and the US Air Force cited family notification policies while refusing to speak initially on the situation. A bomb disposal unit was dispatched to investigate concerns of a suspicious vehicle that could have been connected to Bushnell. The area was later declared safe after nothing hazardous was discovered.

A public incident report given to reporters by the Metropolitan Police Department states that Bushnell was "exhibiting signs of mental distress" — namely that he had "doused himself with an unidentified liquid and set himself on fire" — before the Secret Service could reach him. A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy reported that no staff members were injured in the incident.

Reactions

When responding to the question about "Bushnell's self-immolation might indicate that there is a deeper issue about the US military personnel being concerned about how weapons and support for Isral has been used in Gaza", Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick S. Ryder made the following statement,

From the Department of Defense's standpoint, since Hamas's brutal attacks on October 7, we have been focusing on the four key areas of the Secretary set out from the onset that's protecting US forces and citizens in the region. Supporting Israel's inherent right to defend itself from terrorist attacks, working closely with Israel to support and secure the release of hostages from Hamas and ensuring the crisis the conflict between Hamas and Israel doesn't escalate into a broader regional and so those objectives are what continue to inform our approach to the situation in the Middle East and as we've talked about before while out support for Israel's inherent right to defend itself as ironclad. We've also continued to actively communicate our expectations that Israel take civilian safety and humanitarian assistance into account into their operations. You see that incorporated into every conversation the Secretary has with his counterpart in Israel as well as other US officials and we expect them to continue to the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law and we'll continue to do that.

Following his self-immolation, Bushnell's actions were praised by activists such as Aya Hijazi and Dyab Abou Jahjah, as well as United States Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent candidate Cornel West, all of whom paid tribute following his death. While some, namely supporters of Palestine, viewed his act as heroic and sacrificial, others considered Bushnell to have resorted to extreme measures by committing suicide.

See also

• List of political self-immolations
  • Norman Morrison, an American activist who self-immolated in 1965 to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War
  • Roger Allen LaPorte, an American Christian seminarian who self-immolated in 1965 to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War
  • George Winne Jr., an American student who self-immolated in 1970 to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War
  • Malachi Ritscher, an American musician who self-immolated in 2006 to protest the Iraq War