A man set himself on fire during an anti-Israel protest in Washington DC Saturday evening, videos posted to social media show. The protest was held shortly before the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
The protester, identified as photojournalist Samuel Mena Jr, set his left arm on fire. In the videos posted to X, Mena can be seen screaming in pain while holding his burning arm up. People around him poured water on the arm and smothered the fire with bits of clothing.
In another clip, Mena was arrested following his failed self-immolation. As he was being arrested, he screamed, “We spread the misinformation!"
“I’m a journalist and I said it was okay," he added. Police said that he was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Mena wrote about his intentions to set his arm on fire in a blog post prior to the protest in which he denied the October 7 massacre committed by the Hamas terrorist organization, claiming that Israel "gave us no evidence and yet reported that rapists and baby murderers had attacked an ally of the United States."
He further claimed that "Netanyahu facilitates a genocide across the world."
At the end of his post, Mena mentioned Aaron Bushnell, the US airman who died when he set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in February, and wrote, "To the 10 thousand children in Gaza that have lost a limb in this conflict, I give my left arm to you. I pray my voice was able to raise up yours, and that your smiles never disappear."
The protest was held near the White House.
Afterward, the DC police stated, “The District of Columbia has a long and proud history of peaceful First Amendment activities and the Metropolitan Police Department handles hundreds of protests, demonstrations and other events every year."