A man who introduced himself as an active duty member of the U.S Air Force self immolated today, stating “I will no longer be complicit in genocide” and repeatedly yelling “free Palestine” after he ignited himself. This happened outside of the Israeli Embassy in DC.

Of course one of the first things a cop did was draw his gun on him after he had collapsed and was on fire.

https://x.com/taliaotg/status/1761839190487278038?s=46&t=6pkogdo-vrGzHHrZyVCvFQ

Talia Jane ❤️‍🔥 (@taliaotg) on X

UPDATE: I got footage of the self-immolation at the Israeli embassy in DC. The individual, wearing fatigues, introduces himself as “an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide.” After ignition, he repeatedly yells “Free Palestine.”

X (formerly Twitter)

Aaron Bushnell was 25 years old. It is now confirmed that he has succumbed to his injuries.

Self immolation has to be the most desperate form of protest there is. Lighting yourself on fire so your cries for change can finally be heard. This is so heartbreaking. Friends of Aaron Bushnell shared how he used to feed houseless people in San Antonio, and the now-deleted twitch channel where he live-streamed his actions today seem to point to him being an anarchist. I don’t know for certain, but his profile photo was of a circle A/anarchy A, and his user name had “AnarKitty” in it.

Rest in Power 🖤

perhaps instead of lighting ourselves on fire we should light the consulates on fire
While I appreciate the sentiment, this really doesn’t accomplish anything. Frankly, I don’t think any action will accomplish anything. It hasn’t accomplished anything for the better for at least 76 years.
@Coherence7521 @alissaazar Shut the fuck up and look up the history of self-immolation as protest for five minutes.
No need for hostility. I just don’t get how this is effective. Quite bold to assume I don’t know about the history of self-immolation as protest as well. Is it somehow evil for lack of a better term to be in despair at someone wasting their life to accomplish nothing while the people of Palestine suffer? We all know what is going on in Palestine. Awareness clearly isn’t helping. Neither is killing ourselves or shouting cliché chants and listening to self-important assholes at rallies organized by fucking PSL and the like. All I wonder is what could work to stop this ongoing genocide and truly bring about a free Palestine.
@Coherence7521 According to a Pew Research poll (pewresearch.org/politics/2023/12/08/americans-views-of-the-israel-hamas-war/), 20% of ppl in the US are unsure of the ‘Israel-Hamas war’ (the continuation of the genocide following October 6). That doesn’t necessarily mean all 20% don’t know anything about the genocide but it does mean that significant percentage of ppl in the US are a lot more open than you’d think to swaying one side or the other. Building awareness and, most importantly, fostering revolutionary thinking is crucial to facilitating the revolution in Palestine. Demonstrations are always the loudest way to communicate ideas to the people. Regardless of how ineffective they are on their own, they can redirect people to educational resources and tangible action.