An unidentified man in Washington, D.C. was reported to be in critical condition Sunday after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in what may have been a desperate act of protest against the ongoing military assault and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The DC Police Department said in a statement that its officers responded to a call at approximately 1:00 pm local time "to assist the United States Secret Service after an individual set themselves on fire in front of an embassy in the block."
The police said an "adult male was transported by DC Fire and EMS to a local hospital where they remain in critical condition."
Independent journalist Talia Jane, who obtained footage of the self-immolation, was among the first to report that in the video the "individual, wearing fatigues, introduces himself as 'an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide.' After ignition, he repeatedly yells 'Free Palestine.'" Common Dreams could not independently verify the existence of the video and has not seen it.
According to the New York Times:
The man appeared to have filmed the protest and livestreamed it on the social media platform Twitch at the time that the police said they responded to the incident. The New York Times could not confirm who was behind the account that posted the video, but the video featured a man walking toward the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
"I will no longer be complicit in genocide," a man said in the video, echoing language that opponents of Israel’s military action in Gaza have used to describe the campaign. "I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest.”"
Standing in front of the embassy gates, he set his phone down to film dousing himself in a clear liquid from a metal bottle. He then lit himself on fire while yelling "Free Palestine!" until he fell to the ground.
Lynn Sweet, veteran journalist and DC bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, spoke to a member of the Secret Service who confirmed what happened appeared to be a self-immolation. Sweet shared footage of the area right outside the Israeli Embassy where the incident took place.
The news outlet Task & Purpose, which reports on the military, confirmed with a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force that the man who set himself on fire was an active-duty airman, though his name has not been released.
Update: This story has been updated from its original to include details about the video confirmed by the New York Times and details about the identity of the man reported by Task & Purpose.
