Who was Aaron Bushnell? US Air Force member died setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy
Aaron Bushnell — the Air Force engineer who died hours after lighting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in DC on Sunday — was a 25-year-old IT engineer-in-training who hailed from a tiny Massachusetts town.
Bushnell livestreamed his gruesome final moments — chilling footage that included him calmly walking to his final destination outside the embassy’s gates before dousing himself in a flammable liquid and lighting it, sending him up in flames.
The steely-eyed serviceman, dressed in his camouflage uniform, said in the video, “I will no longer be complicit in genocide [in Gaza].
“I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest,” he added before repeatedly screaming, “Free Palestine!’’ as fire engulfed him and he eventually collapsed.
Here is what we know about Bushnell.
Budding IT engineer with grand future plans
The airman entered basic training in May 2020 and “graduated top of flight and top of class,’’ according to his LinkedIn profile, which said Monday it “has been memorialized as a tribute to Aaron Bushnell’s professional legacy.”
He ended up stationed in San Antonio, Texas — across the country from his family back home in Orleans on Cape Cod.
At the time of his death, Bushnell was working as a DevOps, or software development and operations, engineer, a tech guy who was presumably acting as a go-between for the two areas, his job profile said.
He also had cyber-security training, he said.
“Throughout my time in the military in both leadership and followership roles, as well as prior work experience in a variety of civilian roles, I have thrived in team environments and gained very good communication skills,’’ wrote Bushnell, who was promoted to his last job in March 2023.
“I have been commended by senior leaders for my ability to explain complex technical matters to them. I can bring many such soft skills to the table in any role.”
He described himself as an “aspiring software engineer’’ and said he was “currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering from Western Governor’s University,’’ although the page also said he was actually attending Southern New Hampshire University.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of Aaron’s passing and the SNHU community sends its deepest condolences to Aaron’s family and friends,” the school said in a statement to ABC on Monday.
Bushnell expected to obtain a bachelor’s degree in software engineering in May 2025, he said on LinkedIn.
The Air Force was tight-lipped Monday about Bushnell and his death, only confirming that an active-duty service member died in the disturbing incident.
“It certainly is a tragic event,’’ Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters Monday, adding that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “is following the situation.
“We certainly do extend our condolences to the airman’s family,’’ Ryder said.
Religious family with roots in quaint Cape Cod town
The Bushnells appear to be a religious family and fairly well-known in their hometown of Orleans.
Dad David, 57, supervises construction for an architecture firm — sharing links on his Facebook page to sites such as the Church of the Transfiguration and The Community of Jesus — and mom Danielle, also 57, is employed as a “purchaser and contracts administrator’’ for Paraclete Press, a publisher of Christian books and music.
Danielle’s online company bio reads, “Her other passions include teaching American history and government to homeschoolers, playing the bass clarinet, caring for her dog, Jasper, and her cat, Lilac.”
The company declined comment to The Post on Monday.
Aaron Bushnell attended local schools when younger.
Nauset Public Schools said Monday it is “heartbroken to learn of the untimely death of one of our former students, Aaron Bushnell.
“Mr. Bushnell was a student in the Nauset Public Schools between 2003-2007 and 2013-2014,” the district told WBZ-TV in a statement. “Our school community is saddened by Mr. Bushnell’s death and we offer our condolences to his family and friends.”
As a teen, Aaron Bushnell worked for two years in IT and web development for Paraclete.
What to know about Aaron Bushnell — the Air Force airman who set himself on fire to protest Israel's war on Hamas
- US Air Force member Aaron Bushnell, 25, died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on Feb. 25, 2024 in a protest against Israel’s war against Hamas.
- “I will no longer be complicit in genocide [in Gaza]. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest,” Bushnell said before repeatedly shouting “Free Palestine!”
- Bushnell died hours later from his injuries after being brought to a hospital by firefighters.
- “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?’” the airman wrote in a Facebook post right before his self-immolation. “The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”
- The 25-year-old grew up in Massachusetts and had been stationed in San Antonio, Texas. He described himself on LinkedIn as an “aspiring software engineer.”
- Bushnell gave away his cat and his a fridge full of root beer to friends before his passing, according to the Washington Post.
He and his younger brother Sean, 22, also performed when younger in a drum ensemble called Spirit Winter Percussion.
“Spirit WP is over the top awesome!” their proud dad wrote in a 2017 Facebook post. “Words can not express how grateful Danielle and I are for this group and how much it has meant (and continues to mean) in our boys’ lives.’’
Anarchist leanings
Aaron liked two Ohio-based anarchist groups — Burning River Anarchist Collective and Mutual Aid Street Solidarity — on his Facebook page.
He also gave the thumbs-up to an account belonging to the Kent State University chapter of the radical pro-Hamas group Students for Justice in Palestine.
In late December, Burning River touted two books for readers, including one titled, “Nourishing Resistance,’’ on its Facebook page.
On Oct. 17, 10 days after the Palestinian terror group Hamas launched its massacre in Israel, sparking the Gaza war, the anarchist group also linked to an interview by the Black Rose Anarchist Federation titled, “Voices from the Front Line Against the Occupation: Interview with Palestinian Anarchists.’’
It interviewed Fauda, “a small group centered in the West Bank that identifies itself as a Palestinian anarchist organization, to get their perspective on the current struggle.
“We hope that this interview will be a step in creating more connections between revolutionaries in the US and the militant youth in Palestine, and more knowledge and understanding of each other,’’ Black Rose said.
The Fauda member interviewed said during the conversation, “I want to tell all our brothers around the world, not just in the United States, to never trust what the global media empire tells you.
“I want you to know something else, which is that the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas do not represent us, the Palestinian people, at all. We reject authority and we reject Abbas and all his ministers.”
Burning River declined comment to The Post on Monday, saying in an email that “none of us knew’’ Aaron Bushnell.
The airman’s final hours
Two hours before he burned himself alive around 1 p.m. Sunday, Aaron Bushnell posted a now-eerie final message on Facebook.
“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?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now,” he wrote.
The message included a link to a Twitch livestream, which he would soon use to broadcast to the world his opposition to the war in Gaza — and his horrific end.
“Hi, my name is Aaron Bushnell, I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force, and I will no longer be complicit in genocide,’’ the young man says matter-of-factly in the footage as he walks toward his final destination outside the embassy Sunday afternoon.
“I am 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.’’
Once in front of the embassy gates, he uses a thermos to douse himself with the flammable liquid, then tries to light his uniform but apparently fails, so instead torches the liquid pooling around his feet and goes up in flames.
“Free Palestine!’’ the airman repeatedly screams as he waves his arms and amazingly stays standing for about 45 seconds before crumpling to the ground, his clothes burned and his body charred.
He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and died Sunday night, authorities and Air Force officials said.
Two people who claimed to be friends of Bushnell spoke to independent journalist Talia Jane, who posted their words to X on Monday.
“He is one of the most principled comrades I’ve ever known,” said a person called Xylem, who apparently had worked with Bushnell to support San Antonio’s unhoused residents.
Another friend called Errico, who said they had met Bushnell in 2022, added, “Aaron is the kindest, gentlest, silliest little kid in the Air Force.
“He’s always trying to think about how we can actually achieve liberation for all with a smile on his face.’’
What’s next
The Air Force told The Post on Monday it would be releasing more information on the service member by Tuesday, after a 24-hour period for family notification.
Ryder on Monday declined to comment on any possible ties between Aaron Bushnell and extremist groups.
