The airman, who filmed the incident and could be heard yelling “Free Palestine,” was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after collapsing to the ground.

The U.S. Air Force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., in an apparent protest against the Israel-Hamas war has died, according to a U.S. official.

Next of kin notification is continuing, so the Air Force won’t release his name until 24 hours after the final notification is complete.

The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department responded to a call about a person on fire outside the embassy just before 1 p.m. Sunday, and found the flames extinguished by the Secret Service’s uniformed division.

      • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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        7 months ago

        Say his name for the record. Luther Ray Abel wrote that article. I want this to be searchable with that name. Let it be known that Luther Ray Abel discards human dignity; specifically Aaron Bushnell inherit human dignity, in exchange for snarky article clicks.

    • nyctre@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Went to the article and there are 172 comments. Didn’t read them all as it was enraging. Everyone is agreeing with the article and calling him suicidal, insane or other such things. Fuck that place

    • lennybird@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Wow. Luther Ray Abel is a total loser. I’m willing to bet this young airman, Aaron Bushnell, had infinitely-more courage and moral conviction than this piece of shit.

    • ProfessorProteus@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Even the use of “our military”—at least to me—sounds highly exclusive, as if the writer is talking of a type of person who doesn’t belong in “our military.”

      Then the piece of shit purposefully mangles the message that the late airman was trying to amplify. Is “free Palestine” the same as “free hamas?” No the fuck it isn’t.

        • ProfessorProteus@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          That’s a great word for it. I wasn’t at all trying to downplay the egregious slander. It’s extremely patronizing.

      • thisisnotgoingwell@programming.dev
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        7 months ago

        If it makes you feel any better, you have to knowingly be in an echo chamber to call what he wrote anything that even resembles “journalism” …

        “so it’s conceivable that Bushnell was on his command’s radar but hadn’t done anything to warrant action . . . at least until now.”

        Uhm, excuse me? Is this what passes for journalism now, blatant speculation?

        The only people who would willingly read that garbage are well aware their head is in the sand, they just want to hear validation.

    • capital@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Dawg, I spent all pandemic scrolling r/HermanCainAward.

      I’ll tell you what I told conservatives crying about that sub - it’s really hard to care when they do it to themselves.