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US airman left haunting final post before setting himself on fire in front of Israeli Embassy in DC

Police at scene where US Air Force member set himself on fire at Israeli Embassy
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US Air Force member Aaron Bushnell made a chilling final Facebook post just before he burned himself to death outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC.

Bushnell, 25, penned a Facebook post about standing against injustice early Sunday, before his horrific self-immolation while repeatedly crying out, “Free Palestine.”

“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?’” he asked in his post.

A photo posted on X (formerly Twitter) shows Aaron Bushnell ablaze in front of the Israeli Embassy in DC. X/Talia Jane
It was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Air Force that Aaron Bushnell is an active-duty airman. Aaron Bushnell / Linkedin

“The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”

The post — his first since April 2018 — included a link to a livestream video on Twitch that showed Bushnell setting himself alight while saying he “will no longer be complicit in genocide [in Gaza].”

What to know about Aaron Bushnell — the Air Force airman who set himself on fire to protest Israel's war on Hamas

  • US Air Force member Aaron Bushnell, 25, died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on Feb. 25, 2024 in a protest against Israel’s war against Hamas.
  • “I will no longer be complicit in genocide [in Gaza]. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest,” Bushnell said before repeatedly shouting “Free Palestine!”
  • Bushnell died hours later from his injuries after being brought to a hospital by firefighters.
  • “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 airman wrote in a Facebook post right before his self-immolation. “The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”
  • The 25-year-old grew up in Massachusetts and had been stationed in San Antonio, Texas. He described himself on LinkedIn as an “aspiring software engineer.”
  • Bushnell gave away his cat and his a fridge full of root beer to friends before his passing, according to the Washington Post. 

The footage has since been removed for violating the platform’s community guidelines and terms of service.

Bushnell, 25, penned the Facebook post about standing against injustice early Sunday. Facebook / Aaron Bushnell
The footage was taken down for violating Twitch’s community guidelines. Anadolu via Getty Images

Bushnell died from his injuries, police and US Air Force officials confirmed to The Post on Monday.