An anti-Israel protester, identified as Samuel Mena Jr, lit himself on fire outside of the White House during an anti-Israel protest on Saturday evening.
In photos and videos of the incident, Mena Jr, is seen screaming in pain as he raises his left arm engulfed in pain and
Several bystanders rished to his aid, dousing him with water and beating out the flames with pieces of clothing.
Mena screamed about ‘misinformation’ and announced that he is a journalist.
Jessica Costescu from Free Beacon captured the harrowing incident and its aftermath.
Warning graphic:
BREAKING: A man attempted to self immolate in front of the White House pic.twitter.com/IF8YAaRbij
— Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) October 5, 2024
Journalist Samuel Mena self-immolated today by lighting his left arm on fire during a protest for Palestine outside of the White House on 16th Street at Freedom Plaza. Police doused him with water and successfully extinguished the flames. He was taken away in an ambulance shortly… pic.twitter.com/fK7g3ZLfaW
— Kaitlin Newman (@KaitlinObscura) October 6, 2024
In a lengthy blog posted to his website before the incident on Saturday, Mena questioned the media’s objectivity in its coverage of the war in Gaza.
“To the 10 thousand children in Gaza that have lost a limb in this conflict, I give my left arm to you,” he wrote. “I pray my voice was able to raise up yours, and that your smiles never disappear.”
The journalist, a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, had spent the last two years working for local CBS affiliate AZFamily, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Mena lit himself on fire in the 800 block of 16th Street just outside of the White House around 5:45 p.m., according to the Washington DC Metropolitan Police.
An account on X that appears to be Mena’s has a picture of him standing in front of a Palestinian flag with text of the genocidal phrase, “From the river to the sea” above his photo. One post echoes the pro-Hamas’ crowd to “end settler colonialism.”
He posted a note Saturday morning annoucning he be live-streaming outside of the White House later in the day.
I will be streaming live from the White House exterior on instagram live in 30 minutes. The first 30 minutes will be spent doing tech trouble shooting, and I will give a speech in an hour from now. @SamuelMenaJr
— Sam Mena Jr ️⚧️ (@SamuelMenaJr) October 5, 2024
He posted a note Saturday morning announcing he would be live-streaming outside of the White House later in the day.
