Vigils were held in cities across the United States on Monday evening, to honor and mourn the US active-duty airman, Aaron Bushnell, who died after setting himself on fire in protest of war in Gaza.
Aaron Bushnell, 25, died after lighting himself on fire the previous day in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington on February 25, 2204, in an extreme act of protest against the US government’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
Mourners left flowers and candles and wrote messages on the sidewalks, many expressing their admiration for Bushnell’s final act of protest.
In a video aired live on streaming site Twitch, Bushnell, who was dressed in military uniform, identified himself and said that he would “no longer be complicit in genocide”. He said that he is “about to engage in an extreme act of protest” but added that his protest was minimal “compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers is not extreme at all”.
He then sets the recording device on the ground before pouring an unknown liquid over himself and igniting it. He repeatedly yelled “Free Palestine” as flames engulf him before he collapses to the ground and police officers rush to douse the flames with fire extinguishers.
Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded some 70,000 people since October 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Rest in power, Aaron Bushnell
Bushnell’s suicidal protest instantly won him praise among some antiwar and pro-Palestinian activists, while others said they were devastated that he would take such an extreme action.
Pro-Palestine activists including presidential candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West have expressed their admiration for the engineer.
“Rest in power Aaron Bushnell. ‘I will no longer be complicit in genocide. Free Palestine!’ May his sacrifice deepen our commitment to stop genocide now,” Jill Stein posted.
Cornel West posted on X: “Let us never forget the extraordinary courage and commitment of brother Aaron Bushnell who died for truth and justice! I pray for his precious loved ones! Let us rededicate ourselves to genuine solidarity with Palestinians undergoing genocidal attacks in real time!”
“A hero and a martyr. May his death not be in vain. May it be a wake up call where we see the end of the genocide and the start of a free Palestine. RIP Aaron Bushnell,” wrote activist Aya Hijazi.
Many users on social media platform X also posted art inspired by Bushnell’s self-immolation.
“Aaron Bushnell’s memory will be honored. His act is extreme like he described it. Yet, it is his noble message that matters. His sacrifice is now part of the sacrifices of the Palestinian people in its struggle for dignity,” wrote activist and author Dyab Abou Jahjah.
Self-immolations are a rare form of protest, mostly connected to antiwar protests. In December, a protestor with a Palestinian flag self-immolated outside the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta.
Protestors urge Bident to call for ceasefire
Israel’s war and relentless attacks on Gaza have become a point of contention for President Joe Biden as critics urge him to call for a ceasefire and pressurize Israel to prevent civilian deaths.
Marione Ingram, an 88-year old activist and Holocaust survivor, was at the D.C. vigil held on Monday. “I urge you, Mr. President, I urge you, Congress, start defunding Israel. Start making peace. It is time we stop killing children. I do not wish that people burn themselves to bring the point home. Mr. Biden, you should stop supporting the genocide in Gaza” Ingram said.
Who was Aaron Bushnell?
As the world grapples with Bushnell’s self-immolation, some of his closest friends wonder how a young man who liked The Lord of the Rings and karaoke became the man ablaze in a camouflage military uniform.
Bushnell was a 25-year-old member of the US Air Force stationed at the Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio and originally from Whitman, Massachusetts.
Aaron Bushnell was a cyber-defense operations specialist with the 531st Intelligence Support Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas, and had been in the Air Force since May 2020, the US Air Force said.
He was looking to “transition out of the US Air Force into software engineering,” according to his LinkedIn page.
Bushnell was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from Western Governors University. He previously studied software development at Southern New Hampshire University and computer science at the University of Maryland Global Campus, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Southern New Hampshire University, where Bushnell enrolled online last year to pursue a computer science degree, said: “We are deeply saddened by the news of Aaron’s passing and the SNHU community sends its deepest condolences to Aaron’s family and friends.”