A pilot in uniform who set himself on fire to protest the U.S. role in Israel’s military strike in Gaza was an anarchist who was raised in a strict religious sect and has ties to a Canadian school , the school “controls, intimidates and humiliates” students, it was reported on Tuesday.
Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty U.S. Air Force senior airman from San Antonio, Texas, doused himself in flammable liquid and set himself on fire Sunday outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., and died hours later at a hospital.
The 25-year-old Bushnell broadcast the self-immolation event live on the social media platform Twitch, declaring that he “will no longer participate in genocide” and shouting “Free Palestine” before lighting the fire.
Less than two weeks before the incident, Bushnell spoke with a friend by phone about the “sacrifice” they needed to make as anarchists and spoke with several people who knew him, The Washington Post reported on Monday. people had a conversation.
The Washington Post quoted the friend as saying that Bushnell did not mention any violence or self-sacrifice during the call.
But on Sunday morning, just before he set himself on fire outside the embassy on International Boulevard around 1 p.m., he texted the friend. The Washington Post is not naming the friend to protect his anonymity. “I hope you understand. I love you,” Bushnell wrote. “It doesn’t make sense at all, but I feel like I’m going to miss you.”
He also sent a copy of his will to friends, the newspaper added. In his will, Bushnell gave his pet cat to a neighbor and the root beer in his refrigerator to friends.
Bushnell is a cyber defense operations specialist with the 531st Intelligence Support Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio, according to the Air Force. He has been serving since May 2020. He will retire in May after serving a four-year term.
The Washington Post spoke with people who described his upbringing in a religious compound in Orleans, Massachusetts, run by a Benedictine monastic religious order called the Community of Jesus. They said he was a young man who loved karaoke and “Lord of the Rings.”
However, the church also has a darker side, at least according to a lawsuit filed in Canada by former students of an Ontario school where many officials are alleged to be members of the American religious group, according to The Washington Post.
The students said the officers ran a “charisma” that “created an environment of control, intimidation and humiliation that empowered and caused lasting harm to students.”
Newsletter Promotion Post
The school and church deny the accusations. But an appeals court last year awarded the former students C$10.8 million ($8 million).
Susan Wilkins, who left the church in 2005 and said Bushnell was still a member at the time, told The Washington Post that it was common for members of the Jesus community to join the military, starting with “a High control group to another high control group.
At the time of his death, Bushnell was planning to return to civilian life in May. The Washington Post quoted him as saying he told another friend that he was considering leaving the Air Force early to “take a stand” against what he saw as state-sponsored violence, particularly U.S. support for Israel in the Gaza Strip. But he believes his contract term is coming to an end and he can hang on.
Officials at Southern New Hampshire University said Bushnell had enrolled in an online computer science degree program in August 2023 and was registered for the new semester starting next week.
-
In the United States, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, chat at 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service lifeline is 13 11 14.Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
