A man who works in the media set himself on fire in front of the White House during an anti-Israel protest on Saturday night, as seen in a shocking video. The man, identified as photojournalist Samuel Mena Jr., is shown in a video screaming in pain after setting his left arm on fire in the middle of the street.
Shocked police officers and bystanders quickly rushed to help him, according to the footage. Mena raised his burning left arm high in the air, showing it to the crowd as several people rushed toward him and started pouring water on his burning body and smothered the flames with pieces of clothing.
Shocking Image of Burning Man
Photos taken near the White House captured the chilling moment when Mena's arm was engulfed in flames. A video taken after the flames were extinguished shows Mena standing surrounded by a group of police officers. His arm, appearing severely burned and white, suggests the extent of the injury.
In another video shared by Free Beacon reporter Jessica Costescu, Mena can be heard shouting that he is a journalist while being restrained by DC Metropolitan police officers after the fire had been put out.
Another video shows a bystander pouring a bottle of water over the injury.
"We spread the misinformation," Mena screams at one point in the video as a crowd gathers around him.
"I'm a journalist and I said it was okay," he yells as a woman embraces him.
The video captures a white-shirted officer rushing in and shouting at the crowd to "move back," pushing several people aside before the footage cuts off.
In a detailed blog entry published on his website prior to Saturday's incident, Mena raised concerns about the media's impartiality in reporting on 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."
Showing His Concerns
According to his LinkedIn profile, the journalist, a graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, had been employed by the local CBS affiliate AZFamily for the past two years.
Mena set himself on fire at around 5:45 p.m. in the 800 block of 16th Street, just outside the White House, according to the Washington DC Metropolitan Police.
DC Fire and EMS arrived at the scene and took the man to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to police.
"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," the department said.
"We will continue to support those who choose to protest peaceful and safely, and we will continue to hold accountable those who commit criminal acts while in our city."
Protesters gathered in Washington DC near the White House on Saturday evening, ahead of the one-year mark of October 7, when Hamas carried out an attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, igniting the ongoing conflict in the region.
The demonstrators are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, where it's estimated that 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military actions over the past year.
