Cornel West Praises Aaron Bushnell

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West said Tuesday that Aaron Bushnell's protest of the war in Gaza is part of a "moral" message to the United States.

"We can't reduce what's going in Gaza to some electoral-political strategy," West told CNN's Dana Bash. "We've seen the example of our dear brother, Aaron Bushnell. When he set himself on fire, killed himself, what was he saying? These are moral issues and moral causes. These are not just brands and strategies and tactics."

The Context

Bushnell, an American and active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, set himself on fire on Sunday at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. He repeatedly yelled "free Palestine" as he set himself alight in what he called an "extreme" act of protest, later dying from his injuries.

The 25-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, posted a final message earlier that day on Facebook. The post included a link to a Twitch stream that was ultimately removed.

He wrote: "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."

Footage posted online of his setting himself on fire, in which he poured liquid and yelled "Free Palestine" repeatedly, included one officer pointing a gun at Bushnell as others extinguished the flames.

"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," Bushnell said prior to the act.

"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."

The footage shows him walking up the driveway of the embassy, setting his phone down on the ground, pouring an unknown liquid from a bottle over himself, and igniting it while yelling "Free Palestine."

"When a tragedy like this occurs, every member of the Air Force feels it," Colonel Celina Noyes, commander of the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing, said following his death. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Senior Airman Bushnell."

Bushnell's protest comes as Israel's war on Hamas has killed about 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including some 12,300 children, the Associated Press reported, citing the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel declared war following the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which about 1,200 people were killed. Israel's air and ground offensive has since driven about 80 percent of Gaza's population from their homes.

What We Know

Bushnell, whose life ended while working as a cyber defense operations specialist with the 531st Intelligence Support Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio, initially joined the Air Force in May 2020. He was in his final role since March 2023, according to his LinkedIn account.

Independent reporter Talia Jane wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Bushnell's loved ones provided consent for a blurred version of the video to be posted online.

He was described as "the kindest, gentlest, silliest little kid in the Air Force" by Errico, a friend who met him in 2022, according to Jane. "He's always trying to think about how we can actually achieve liberation for all with a smile on his face," Errico said.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

Correction 2/27/24, 1:34 p.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the spelling of Cornel West.

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