Aaron Bushnell

On February 25, 2024, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old serviceman of the United States Air Force, died after setting himself on fire outside the front gate of the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. Immediately prior to the live-streamed act, Bushnell said that he was protesting against "what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers" and declared that he "will no longer be complicit in genocide", after which he doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself on fire.

As he burned, Bushnell repeatedly shouted "Free Palestine!" while one Secret Service officer pointed a gun at him and two others attempted to extinguish him.

The act was live-streamed on Twitch.

The 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.

He was declared dead in the evening.

Bushnell's act was the second self-immolation protesting against the United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war, which have killed over 30,000 Palestinians and resulted in a major humanitarian crisis, at an Israeli diplomatic station in the United States; another protestor set herself on fire at the country's Atlanta consulate in December 2023.

Bushnell grew up in Orleans, Massachusetts, in the isolated Christian Community of Jesus compound.

He told his friend that he left the community in 2019.

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 by the name of Lupe Barboza in an interview with Al Jazeera commented that Bushnell was religious and anti-imperialistic, but she did not think that Bushnell was mentally ill.

Other friends noted that Bushnell's contract with the military was to expire in May and that, following the police murder of George Floyd, Bushnell became more open in his objections with the military.

A Reddit account attributed to Bushnell denounced Israel as a "settler colonialist apartheid state" and posted a comment stating that there are no Israeli "civilians" who are not involved in the oppression of Palestine.

Bushnell was 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 Atlanta authorities, protested via self-immolation outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia, which resulted in the protester having critical injuries.

Bushnell created a will before immolating himself, which left instructions for his savings to be donated to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and that his cat be left with a neighbor after his death.

On February 25, 2024, 10:54 a.m. local time, the morning of his self-immolation, Bushnell posted a message on Facebook, writing: "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."

He also 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, dressed in military fatigues, approached the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., intending to immolate himself as an act of protest against the war in Gaza.

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 live-streaming, he walked towards the embassy and 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."

Outside the embassy, Bushnell placed his camera down, positioned himself in front of the gates, and poured a flammable 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, and eventually collapsed to the ground.

The security officer radioed in for assistance.

A Secret Service officer approached the scene, aimed a gun at Bushnell off-camera, and ordered him to "get on the ground" multiple times while a police 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 to a local hospital by the DC Fire & EMS.

About 7 hours after his self-immolation, Bushnell was declared dead at the age of 25 from his burn injuries at 8:06 pm local time.

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.

In reaction to the incident, the Biden administration stated in a Pentagon press conference that its policy wouldn't change, and that their "support for Israel's inherent right to defend itself is ironclad".

When responding to the question by the Associated Press on whether "Bushnell's self-immolation might indicate that there is a deeper issue" with US military personnel being concerned about how weapons are used, Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick S. Ryder reaffirmed US support for Israel's operations.