Airman who set self on fire grew up on religious compound, had anarchist past
Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2024 7:37 pm
Airman who set self on fire grew up on religious compound, had anarchist past
Read more here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... eath-gaza/
Less than two weeks before Aaron Bushnell walked toward the gates of the Israeli Embassy on Sunday, he and a friend talked by phone about their shared identities as anarchists and what kinds of risks and sacrifices were needed to be effective.
Bushnell, 25, mentioned nothing violent or self-sacrificial, the friend said.
Then on Sunday, Bushnell texted that friend, who described the exchange on the condition of anonymity to protect his safety.
“I hope you’ll understand. I love you,” Bushnell wrote in a message reviewed by The Washington Post. “This doesn’t even make sense, but I feel like I’m going to miss you.”
He sent the friend a copy of his will on Sunday. In it, he gave his cat to his neighbor and a fridge full of root beers to the friend.
Twelve minutes later, Bushnell, who was a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, doused himself with a liquid and set himself on fire. He had posted a video online saying he did not want to be “complicit in genocide.” He shouted “Free Palestine” as he burned.
Read more here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... eath-gaza/
Less than two weeks before Aaron Bushnell walked toward the gates of the Israeli Embassy on Sunday, he and a friend talked by phone about their shared identities as anarchists and what kinds of risks and sacrifices were needed to be effective.
Bushnell, 25, mentioned nothing violent or self-sacrificial, the friend said.
Then on Sunday, Bushnell texted that friend, who described the exchange on the condition of anonymity to protect his safety.
“I hope you’ll understand. I love you,” Bushnell wrote in a message reviewed by The Washington Post. “This doesn’t even make sense, but I feel like I’m going to miss you.”
He sent the friend a copy of his will on Sunday. In it, he gave his cat to his neighbor and a fridge full of root beers to the friend.
Twelve minutes later, Bushnell, who was a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, doused himself with a liquid and set himself on fire. He had posted a video online saying he did not want to be “complicit in genocide.” He shouted “Free Palestine” as he burned.