U.S. Airforce Officer, Aaron Bushnell Sets Self on Fire in Solidarity with Palestinians

A 25-year-old U.S. Air Force officer, Aaron Bushnell, set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy, Washington D.C., on Sunday as a show of protest in solidarity for the cause of the Palestine people.

Bushnell, who was an active member of the United States Air Force, engaged in an extreme form of protest and expressed his concern before setting himself aflame.

I will no longer be complicit in Genocide, he said.

He added: “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 colonisers, it’s not extreme at all.

“This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

According to a BBC report, the incident happened at about 13:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday, as he gave his last words, “Free Palestine.”

The U.S. Secret Service, who came to his rescue, extinguished the flames, but Bushnell sustained a level of burnt degree as a result of the action as he was taken to the hospital in critical condition, the City’s Fire Department reported.

Following the incident, Bushnell’s video went viral on social media, where he purportedly gave his last words before being taken to medical attention.

While this is not the first of its kind, the Israeli Embassy has denied knowing the airman as its staff.

Read more: Fire razes down FCT Minister of State’s private home in Abuja

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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