Pro-Palestine supporters praised active-duty Air Force member Aaron Bushnell's suicide by immolation in protest of "genocide" by the hands of "colonizers" in response to Israel's military response in Gaza.
While dressed in military fatigues, 25-year-old Bushnell live-streamed himself to Twitch explaining his frustrations with the military conflict in the region.
"I will no longer be complicit in genocide," Bushnell said while walking outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington. "I'm about to engage in an extreme act of protest but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it's not extreme at all."
"This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal," he added before setting his camera down to film his suicide.
The active-duty Air Force member then doused himself in an accelerant, which he carried in a water bottle, and proceeded to light himself on fire repeatedly yelling, "Free Palestine!"
U.S. Secret Service members extinguished the fire and rushed Bushnell to a nearby hospital. Bushnell's death was confirmed on Monday by authorities.
A series of notable pro-Palestine supporters praised Bushnell's suicide following his death.
"Let us never forget the extraordinary courage and commitment of brother Aaron Bushnell who died for truth and justice!" wrote independent presidential candidate Cornel West. "Let us rededicate ourselves to genuine solidarity with Palestinians undergoing genocidal attacks in real time!"
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz responded to West's remarks on Bushnell's death as "utterly perverse."
Former 2016 Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein commented on Bushnell's death saying, "Rest in power," a phrase commonly invoked by social justice activists.
"May his sacrifice deepen our commitment to stop genocide now," she wrote.
Other pro-Palestine supporters martyrized Bushnell as a "hero" for his suicide.
On Monday, a vigil was held outside the Israeli Embassy where Bushnell self-immolated.
Protestors carried Palestinian flags and held signs reading, "Free Palestine!" Other signs similarly read "REST IN POWER, Aaron," and "STOP U.S SUPPORT of GENOCIDE."
A similar vigil is scheduled for Tuesday night outside the U.S. Armed Forces Recruitment center in Manhattan.
Prior to his Sunday suicide, Bushnell shared a link to a "Free Palestine" Twitch.TV channel, where he live-streamed 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?'," Bushnell's post read. "The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now."
