Aaron Bushnell: The inside story

‘One of the most dedicated and principled people I've ever met' is how close friends described the late Aaron Bushnell, the US Air Force serviceman who self-immolated outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington. So how did Aaron go from an all-American kid in an Israel-supporting fundamentalist Christian community, to making the ultimate sacrifice for a 'Free Palestine'?

On 25 February 2024, Bushnell filmed himself walking up to the embassy, appearing calm as he told the camera he would ‘not be complicit in genocide’. What follows is an extremely shocking, disturbing and powerful sequence of events – after dousing himself in a flammable liquid, Bushnell sets himself alight and shouts ‘Free Palestine’ repeatedly while he burns to death.

MEMO spoke to Talia Jane, the New York-based journalist who broke the sensational and tragic story of Aaron’s extreme act of protest. Talia was the first person to publish the video and speak to Aaron’s friends and loved ones about his life and death.

WATCH: US airman sets himself on fire in front of Israeli Embassy in Washington

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