An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force set himself on fire Sunday afternoon outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. To the surprise of absolutely no one, a quick glance at his social media shows that he was an unhinged left-wing extremist.
The airman, later identified as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell, seems to have been protesting Israel’s war against Hamas. A video recording shows the airman identify himself as Bushnell before saying, “I will no longer be complicit in genocide” and explaining that what he is about to do pales in comparison to the suffering of Palestinians, CNN reported.
He then sets the camera down, douses himself in unknown liquid and ignites it. He reportedly shouted “Free Palestine” multiple times as he went up in flames. (RELATED: US Airman Who Set Himself On Fire Outside Israeli Embassy Dead At 25)
First responders were called to the scene, but arrived after Bushnell had already been extinguished by the Secret Service. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries.
#BREAKING | A man set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC pic.twitter.com/EpM2tOf34h
— Breaking news 24/7 (@aliifil1) February 25, 2024
Bushnell posted an ominous final message to his Facebook profile hours before his self-immolation.
“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. “The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”
Yet this was far from the only red flag he showed online.
Additionally, his Facebook “Likes” include the “Burning River Anarchist Collective,” a “not-for-profit book distro and publisher” with a Facebook banner that celebrates the “Haymarket martyrs.” The “martyrs” in question are eight anarchists who were arrested for throwing a dynamite bomb at Chicago police officers in 1886. It later became known as the Haymarket Affair, a pivotal event in the early labor movement still celebrated by communists worldwide today.
Additional liked pages include “SURJ NEO – Showing Up for Racial Justice Northeast Ohio” and “Students for Justice in Palestine – Kent State University (SJP-KSU).”
His LinkedIn profile, in which he described himself as an “aspiring software engineer,” included Bushnell’s pronouns (he/him) next to his name, a common sign of solidarity with the transgender movement.
This is an extremely sad case. Bushnell fell for the propaganda of numerous, intersecting far-left ideologies on race, gender and oppression, and wound up as a horrifying example of what happens when people follow those toxic beliefs to their logical conclusions. If you truly believe you are complicit in the genocide of innocent people and are powerless to stop it, what other choice do you have?
Bushnell himself is the real victim here, duped into taking his own life by pro-Hamas propaganda of so-called “genocide.” But that doesn’t change the fact that he had no business being in the U.S. Air Force at all. When Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin came into the role, he claimed to have made “immediate changes to better combat extremism” in the military. Yet somehow, a young man who publicly displayed every sign of left-wing extremism was allowed to remain in the ranks. (RELATED: Here’s How Biden Could Embroil America In Yet Another Foreign War)
It doesn’t take genius to figure out why: if Austin didn’t have double standards, he’d have no standards at all.
Above all, this is a horrible day for Bushnell’s family and friends. But it’s also a massive embarrassment to the U.S. military brass, who are only interested in rooting out “extremism” when it conforms to progressive fearmongering about so-called white supremacy, far-right extremism or “white rage,” as Army General Mark Milley called it.
Left-wing extremists aren’t really extremists to our nation’s military leaders. No, they’re just misguided souls who are a little too passionate about what they believe. But show the generals a West Point cadet making an “OK” hand sign, and you can bet there’ll be a full investigation.